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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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268 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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277 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
278 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
281 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
282 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
283 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
284 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
285 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
286 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
287 License'' in the Emacs manual.
289 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
290 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
291 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
293 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
294 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
295 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
296 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
304 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
306 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
311 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
331 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
334 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
335 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
340 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
361 @top The Gnus Newsreader
365 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
366 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
367 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
370 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
381 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
382 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
384 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
385 being accused of plagiarism:
387 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
388 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
389 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
390 can even read news with it!
392 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
393 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
394 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
395 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
396 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
402 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
403 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
404 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
405 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
406 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
407 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
408 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
409 * Various:: General purpose settings.
410 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
411 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
412 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
413 * Key Index:: Key Index.
416 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
420 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
421 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
422 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
423 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
424 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
425 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
426 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
427 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
428 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
429 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
430 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
434 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
435 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
436 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
440 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
441 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
442 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
443 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
444 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
445 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
446 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
447 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
448 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
449 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
450 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
451 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
452 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
453 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
454 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
455 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
456 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
460 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
461 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
462 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
466 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
467 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
468 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
469 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
470 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
474 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
475 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
476 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
477 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
481 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
482 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
483 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
484 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
485 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
486 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
487 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
488 * Threading:: How threads are made.
489 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
490 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
491 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
492 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
493 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
494 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
495 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
496 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
497 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
498 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
499 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
500 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
501 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
502 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
503 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
504 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
505 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
506 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
507 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
508 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
509 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
511 Summary Buffer Format
513 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
514 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
515 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
516 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
520 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
521 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
523 Reply, Followup and Post
525 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
526 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
527 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
528 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
532 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
533 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
534 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
535 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
536 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
537 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
541 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
542 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
544 Customizing Threading
546 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
547 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
548 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
549 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
553 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
554 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
555 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
556 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
557 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
558 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
562 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
563 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
564 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
568 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
569 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
570 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
571 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
572 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
573 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
574 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
575 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
577 Alternative Approaches
579 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
580 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
582 Various Summary Stuff
584 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
585 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
586 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
587 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
591 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
592 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
593 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
594 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
595 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
599 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
600 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
601 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
602 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
603 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
604 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
605 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
606 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
610 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
611 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
612 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
613 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
614 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
615 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
616 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
620 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
621 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
622 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
623 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
624 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
625 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
626 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
630 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
631 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
635 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
636 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
637 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
638 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
639 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
640 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
641 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
642 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
643 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
644 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
645 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
646 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
647 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
651 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
652 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
653 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
655 Choosing a Mail Backend
657 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
658 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
659 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
660 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
661 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
662 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
666 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
667 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
668 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
669 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
670 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
671 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
675 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
676 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
677 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
678 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
679 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
680 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
684 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
688 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
689 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
690 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
694 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
695 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
696 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
700 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
701 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
705 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
706 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
707 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
708 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
709 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
710 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
711 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
712 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
713 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
714 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
718 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
719 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
720 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
724 * Group Agent Commands::
725 * Summary Agent Commands::
726 * Server Agent Commands::
730 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
731 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
732 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
733 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
734 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
735 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
736 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
737 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
738 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
739 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
740 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
741 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
742 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
743 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
744 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
745 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
749 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
750 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
751 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
752 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
756 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
757 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
758 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
762 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
763 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
764 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
765 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
766 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
767 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
768 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
769 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
770 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
771 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
772 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
773 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
774 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
775 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
776 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
777 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
778 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
779 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
783 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
784 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
785 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
786 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
787 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
791 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
792 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
793 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
794 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
798 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
799 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
800 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
801 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
802 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
806 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
807 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
808 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
809 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
810 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
811 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
812 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
813 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
817 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
818 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
819 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
820 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
821 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
822 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
823 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
824 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
825 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
829 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
830 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
831 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
832 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
833 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
837 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
838 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
839 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
840 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
844 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
845 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
846 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
847 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
848 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
849 * Group Info:: The group info format.
850 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
851 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
852 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
856 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
857 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
858 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
859 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
860 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
861 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
865 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
866 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
870 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
871 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
877 @chapter Starting Gnus
882 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
883 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
886 @findex gnus-other-frame
887 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
888 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
889 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
891 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
892 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
893 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
895 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
896 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
899 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
900 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
901 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
902 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
903 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
904 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
905 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
906 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
907 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
908 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
909 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
913 @node Finding the News
914 @section Finding the News
917 @vindex gnus-select-method
919 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
920 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
921 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
922 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
925 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
926 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
929 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
932 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
935 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
938 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
939 certainly be much faster.
941 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
943 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
944 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
945 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
946 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
947 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
948 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
950 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
951 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
952 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
953 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
955 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
956 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
957 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
958 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
959 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
960 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
961 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
962 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
963 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
966 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
968 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
969 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
970 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
971 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
972 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
973 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
975 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
977 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
978 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
979 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
980 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
981 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
982 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
985 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
986 would typically set this variable to
989 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
994 @section The First Time
995 @cindex first time usage
997 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
998 be subscribed by default.
1000 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1001 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1002 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1003 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1006 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1007 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1008 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1010 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1011 help you with most common problems.
1013 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1014 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1018 @node The Server is Down
1019 @section The Server is Down
1020 @cindex server errors
1022 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1023 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1024 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1026 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1027 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1028 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1029 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1030 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1031 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1032 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1034 @findex gnus-no-server
1035 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1037 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1038 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1039 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1040 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1041 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1042 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1043 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1047 @section Slave Gnusae
1050 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1051 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1052 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1053 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1055 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1056 @code{.newsrc} file.
1058 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1059 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1060 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1061 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1062 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1063 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1064 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1066 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1067 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1068 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1069 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1070 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1071 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1072 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1073 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1075 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1076 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1079 @node Fetching a Group
1080 @section Fetching a Group
1081 @cindex fetching a group
1083 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1084 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1085 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1086 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1087 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1088 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1094 @cindex subscription
1096 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1097 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1098 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1099 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1100 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1101 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1102 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1103 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1104 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1107 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1108 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1109 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1113 @node Checking New Groups
1114 @subsection Checking New Groups
1116 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1117 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1118 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1119 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1120 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1121 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1122 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1123 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1124 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1125 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1127 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1128 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1129 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1130 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1131 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1132 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1133 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1134 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1135 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1136 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1137 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1139 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1140 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1141 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1142 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1143 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1144 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1147 @node Subscription Methods
1148 @subsection Subscription Methods
1150 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1151 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1152 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1154 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1155 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1157 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1161 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1162 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1163 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1164 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1165 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1167 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1168 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1169 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1170 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1172 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1173 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1174 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1176 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1177 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1178 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1179 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1180 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1181 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1182 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1183 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1184 up. Or something like that.
1186 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1187 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1188 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1189 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1190 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1192 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1193 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1194 Kill all new groups.
1196 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1197 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1198 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1199 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1200 topic parameter that looks like
1206 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1209 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1214 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1215 A closely related variable is
1216 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1217 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1218 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1219 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1222 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1223 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1224 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1225 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1228 @node Filtering New Groups
1229 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1231 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1232 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1233 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1236 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1239 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1240 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1241 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1242 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1243 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1244 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1245 subscribing these groups.
1246 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1247 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1249 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1250 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1251 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1252 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1253 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1254 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1255 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1256 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1258 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1259 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1260 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1261 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1262 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1263 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1264 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1265 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1266 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1267 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1269 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1270 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1273 @node Changing Servers
1274 @section Changing Servers
1275 @cindex changing servers
1277 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1278 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1279 very flaky and you want to use another.
1281 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1282 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1286 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1287 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1288 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1289 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1292 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1293 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1294 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1295 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1297 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1298 @findex gnus-change-server
1299 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1300 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1301 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1302 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1303 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1305 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1306 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1307 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1308 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1309 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1311 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1312 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1313 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1314 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1315 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1316 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1318 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1319 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1320 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1324 @section Startup Files
1325 @cindex startup files
1330 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1331 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1333 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1334 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1335 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1336 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1337 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1338 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1339 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1341 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1342 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1343 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1344 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1345 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1346 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1348 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1349 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1350 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1351 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1352 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1353 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1354 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1355 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1356 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1357 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1359 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1360 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1361 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1362 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1363 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1364 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1365 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1366 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1367 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1368 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1369 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1370 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1372 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1373 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1374 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1375 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1377 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1378 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1379 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1380 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1381 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1382 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1383 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1384 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1385 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1386 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1389 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1390 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1392 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1393 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1396 @vindex gnus-init-file
1397 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1398 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1399 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1400 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1401 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1402 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1403 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1404 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1405 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1411 @cindex dribble file
1414 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1415 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1416 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1417 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1418 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1421 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1422 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1425 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1426 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1427 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1429 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1430 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1431 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1432 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1433 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1434 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1436 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1437 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1438 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1441 @node The Active File
1442 @section The Active File
1444 @cindex ignored groups
1446 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1447 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1448 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1450 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1451 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1452 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1453 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1454 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1455 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1456 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1459 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1460 @c if you set it to anything else.
1462 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1464 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1465 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1466 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1468 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1469 you actually subscribe to.
1471 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1472 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1473 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1474 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1476 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1477 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1478 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1479 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1480 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1481 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1483 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1484 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1485 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1488 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1489 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1490 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1491 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1492 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1493 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1495 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1496 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1498 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1499 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1501 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1502 secondary select methods.
1505 @node Startup Variables
1506 @section Startup Variables
1510 @item gnus-load-hook
1511 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1512 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1513 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1514 times you start Gnus.
1516 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1517 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1518 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1520 @item gnus-startup-hook
1521 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1522 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1524 @item gnus-started-hook
1525 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1526 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1529 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1530 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1531 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1532 generating the group buffer.
1534 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1535 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1536 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1537 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1538 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1539 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1540 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1541 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1543 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1544 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1545 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1546 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1547 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1548 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1550 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1551 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1552 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1554 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1555 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1556 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1558 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1559 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1560 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1561 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1567 @chapter Group Buffer
1568 @cindex group buffer
1570 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1571 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1572 long as Gnus is active.
1576 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1577 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1578 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1579 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1580 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1581 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1582 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1583 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1589 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1590 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1591 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1592 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1593 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1594 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1595 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1596 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1597 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1598 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1599 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1600 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1601 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1602 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1603 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1604 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1605 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1609 @node Group Buffer Format
1610 @section Group Buffer Format
1613 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1614 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1615 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1619 @node Group Line Specification
1620 @subsection Group Line Specification
1621 @cindex group buffer format
1623 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1624 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1626 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1629 25: news.announce.newusers
1630 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1635 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1636 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1637 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1638 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1640 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1641 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1642 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1643 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1644 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1645 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1647 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1649 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1650 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1651 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1652 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1655 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1656 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1657 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1659 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1664 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1667 Whether the group is subscribed.
1670 Level of subscribedness.
1673 Number of unread articles.
1676 Number of dormant articles.
1679 Number of ticked articles.
1682 Number of read articles.
1685 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1686 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1688 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1689 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1690 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1691 raisins, even the mail backends, where the true number of unread
1692 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1693 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1694 backend interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1695 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1698 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1701 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1710 Newsgroup description.
1713 @samp{m} if moderated.
1716 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1725 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1729 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1732 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1733 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1734 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1735 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1736 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1739 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1741 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1745 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1748 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1752 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1753 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1754 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1755 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1756 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1757 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1762 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1763 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1764 group, or a bogus native group.
1767 @node Group Modeline Specification
1768 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1769 @cindex group modeline
1771 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1772 The mode line can be changed by setting
1773 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1774 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1778 The native news server.
1780 The native select method.
1784 @node Group Highlighting
1785 @subsection Group Highlighting
1786 @cindex highlighting
1787 @cindex group highlighting
1789 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1790 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1791 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1792 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1793 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1795 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1799 (cond (window-system
1800 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1801 (defface my-group-face-1
1802 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1803 (defface my-group-face-2
1804 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1805 (defface my-group-face-3
1806 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1807 (defface my-group-face-4
1808 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1809 (defface my-group-face-5
1810 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1812 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1813 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1814 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1815 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1816 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1817 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1820 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1822 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1829 The number of unread articles in the group.
1833 Whether the group is a mail group.
1835 The level of the group.
1837 The score of the group.
1839 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1841 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1842 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1844 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1845 topic being inserted.
1848 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1849 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1850 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1852 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1853 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1854 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1855 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1856 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1859 @node Group Maneuvering
1860 @section Group Maneuvering
1861 @cindex group movement
1863 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1864 expected, hopefully.
1870 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1871 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1872 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1878 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1879 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1880 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1884 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1885 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1889 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1890 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1894 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1895 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1896 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1900 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1901 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1902 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1905 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1911 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1912 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1913 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1918 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1919 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1920 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1924 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1925 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1926 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1929 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1930 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1931 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1932 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1936 @node Selecting a Group
1937 @section Selecting a Group
1938 @cindex group selection
1943 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1944 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1945 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1946 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1947 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1948 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1949 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1950 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1951 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1952 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1954 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1955 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1956 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1958 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1959 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
1964 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1965 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1966 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1967 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1968 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1972 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1973 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1974 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1975 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1976 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1977 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1978 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1979 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1980 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1981 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1984 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1985 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1986 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1987 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1988 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1991 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1992 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1993 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1994 doing any processing of its contents
1995 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1996 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1997 manner will have no permanent effects.
2001 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2002 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2003 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2004 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2005 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2006 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2007 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2008 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2011 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2012 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2013 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2014 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2019 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2020 full summary buffer.
2023 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2026 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2031 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2032 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2033 Useful functions include:
2036 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2037 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2038 don't select the article.
2040 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2041 Select the first unread article.
2043 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2044 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2048 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2049 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2050 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2054 @node Subscription Commands
2055 @section Subscription Commands
2056 @cindex subscription
2064 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2065 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2066 Toggle subscription to the current group
2067 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2073 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2074 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2075 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2076 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2082 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2083 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2084 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2090 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2091 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2094 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2095 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2096 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2097 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2098 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2104 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2105 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2109 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2110 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2113 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2114 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2115 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2116 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2117 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2118 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2119 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2120 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2121 @file{.newsrc} file.
2125 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2135 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2136 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2137 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2138 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2139 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2140 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2145 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2146 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2147 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2151 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2152 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2153 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2155 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2156 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2157 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2158 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2159 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2160 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2167 @section Group Levels
2171 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2172 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2173 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2174 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2175 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2177 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2183 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2184 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2185 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2186 prompted for a level.
2189 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2190 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2191 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2192 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2193 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2194 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2195 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2196 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2197 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2198 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2199 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2200 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2201 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2202 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2203 reasons of efficiency.
2205 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2206 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2208 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2209 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2210 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2211 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2212 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2213 groups are hidden, in a way.
2215 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2216 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2217 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2218 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2219 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2220 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2222 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2223 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2224 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2225 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2226 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2227 list of killed groups.)
2229 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2230 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2231 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2233 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2234 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2235 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2236 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2237 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2238 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2239 relevant valid ranges.
2241 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2242 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2243 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2244 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2245 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2246 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2249 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2250 one with the best level.
2252 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2253 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2254 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2257 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2258 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2259 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2260 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2263 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2264 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2265 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2266 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2268 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2269 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2270 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2271 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2272 to 5. The default is 6.
2276 @section Group Score
2281 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2282 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2283 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2286 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2287 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2288 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2289 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2290 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2291 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2292 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2293 least significant part.))
2295 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2296 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2297 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2298 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2299 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2300 action after each summary exit, you can add
2301 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2302 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2303 slow things down somewhat.
2306 @node Marking Groups
2307 @section Marking Groups
2308 @cindex marking groups
2310 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2311 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2312 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2313 bidding on those groups.
2315 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2316 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2317 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2325 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2326 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2332 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2333 Remove the mark from the current group
2334 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2338 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2339 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2343 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2344 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2348 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2349 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2353 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2354 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2355 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2358 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2360 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2361 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2362 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2363 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2364 the command to be executed.
2367 @node Foreign Groups
2368 @section Foreign Groups
2369 @cindex foreign groups
2371 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2372 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2373 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2374 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2381 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2382 @cindex making groups
2383 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2384 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2385 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2389 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2390 @cindex renaming groups
2391 Rename the current group to something else
2392 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2393 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2399 @findex gnus-group-customize
2400 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2404 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2405 @cindex renaming groups
2406 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2407 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2411 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2412 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2413 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2417 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2418 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2419 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2423 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2425 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2426 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2431 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2432 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2436 @cindex (ding) archive
2437 @cindex archive group
2438 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2439 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2440 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2441 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2442 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2443 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2444 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2448 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2450 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2451 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2452 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2453 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2457 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2459 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2460 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2461 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2465 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2466 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2468 Make a group based on some file or other
2469 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2470 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2471 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2472 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2473 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2474 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2475 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2479 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2480 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2481 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2482 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2486 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2491 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2492 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2493 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2494 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2495 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2496 @xref{Web Searches}.
2498 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2499 to a particular group by using a match string like
2500 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2503 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2504 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2505 This function will delete the current group
2506 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2507 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2508 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2509 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2510 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2514 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2515 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2516 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2520 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2521 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2522 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2525 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2528 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2529 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2530 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2531 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2532 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2533 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2537 @node Group Parameters
2538 @section Group Parameters
2539 @cindex group parameters
2541 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2542 Here's an example group parameter list:
2545 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2549 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2550 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2551 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2552 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2554 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2555 is an alist of regexps and values.
2557 The following group parameters can be used:
2562 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2565 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2568 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2569 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2570 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2571 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2572 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2574 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2575 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2576 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2577 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2578 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2579 list address instead.
2581 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2585 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2588 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2591 It is totally ignored
2592 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2593 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2595 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2596 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2597 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2598 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2599 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2601 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2602 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2603 sending the message.
2605 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2609 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2610 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2611 of whether it has any unread articles.
2613 @item broken-reply-to
2614 @cindex broken-reply-to
2615 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2616 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2617 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2618 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2619 broken behavior. So there!
2623 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2624 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2628 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2629 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2630 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2635 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2636 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2637 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2638 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2639 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2640 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2641 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2645 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2646 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2647 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2649 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2652 @cindex total-expire
2653 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2654 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2655 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2656 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2659 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2663 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2664 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2665 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2666 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2667 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2668 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2671 @cindex score file group parameter
2672 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2673 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2674 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2677 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2678 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2679 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2680 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2683 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2684 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2685 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2686 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2689 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2690 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2694 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2697 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2702 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2703 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2704 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2708 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2709 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2710 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2712 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2714 @item ignored-charsets
2715 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-known iso-8859-1)}
2716 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2717 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2719 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2722 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2723 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2724 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2725 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2726 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2728 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2729 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2730 like this in the group parameters:
2735 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2739 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2740 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2741 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2742 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2743 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2745 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2746 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2747 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2748 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2749 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2750 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2751 @code{eval}ed there.
2753 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2754 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2755 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2756 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2757 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2761 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2762 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2763 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2764 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2765 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2768 @node Listing Groups
2769 @section Listing Groups
2770 @cindex group listing
2772 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2780 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2781 List all groups that have unread articles
2782 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2783 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2784 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2785 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2792 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2793 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2794 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2795 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2796 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2797 unsubscribed groups).
2801 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2802 List all unread groups on a specific level
2803 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2804 with no unread articles.
2808 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2809 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2810 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2811 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2816 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2817 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2821 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2822 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2823 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2827 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2828 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2832 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2833 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2834 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2835 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2836 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2837 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2838 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2839 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2843 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2844 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2845 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2849 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2850 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2851 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2855 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2856 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2860 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2861 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2865 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2866 List groups limited within the current selection
2867 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2871 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2872 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2876 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2877 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2881 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2882 @cindex visible group parameter
2883 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2884 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2885 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2886 get the same effect.
2888 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2889 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2890 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2891 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2892 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2895 @node Sorting Groups
2896 @section Sorting Groups
2897 @cindex sorting groups
2899 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2900 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2901 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2902 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2903 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2904 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2909 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2910 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2911 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2913 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2914 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2915 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2917 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2918 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2919 Sort by group level.
2921 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2922 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2923 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2925 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2926 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2927 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2928 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2930 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2931 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2932 Sort by number of unread articles.
2934 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2935 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2936 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2938 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
2939 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
2940 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
2945 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2946 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2950 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2951 some sorting criteria:
2955 @kindex G S a (Group)
2956 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2957 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2958 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2961 @kindex G S u (Group)
2962 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2963 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2964 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2967 @kindex G S l (Group)
2968 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2969 Sort the group buffer by group level
2970 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2973 @kindex G S v (Group)
2974 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2975 Sort the group buffer by group score
2976 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2979 @kindex G S r (Group)
2980 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2981 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2982 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2985 @kindex G S m (Group)
2986 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2987 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2988 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2992 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2993 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2995 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2996 commands will sort in reverse order.
2998 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3002 @kindex G P a (Group)
3003 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3004 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3005 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3008 @kindex G P u (Group)
3009 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3010 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3011 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3014 @kindex G P l (Group)
3015 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3016 Sort the groups by group level
3017 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3020 @kindex G P v (Group)
3021 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3022 Sort the groups by group score
3023 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3026 @kindex G P r (Group)
3027 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3028 Sort the groups by group rank
3029 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3032 @kindex G P m (Group)
3033 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3034 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
3035 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3039 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3043 @node Group Maintenance
3044 @section Group Maintenance
3045 @cindex bogus groups
3050 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3051 Find bogus groups and delete them
3052 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3056 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3057 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3058 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3059 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3060 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3064 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3065 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3066 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3067 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3068 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3069 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3072 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3073 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3074 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3075 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3080 @node Browse Foreign Server
3081 @section Browse Foreign Server
3082 @cindex foreign servers
3083 @cindex browsing servers
3088 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3089 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3090 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3091 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3094 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3095 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3096 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3097 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3099 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3104 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3105 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3109 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3110 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3113 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3114 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3115 Enter the current group and display the first article
3116 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3119 @kindex RET (Browse)
3120 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3121 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3125 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3126 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3127 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3133 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3134 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3138 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3139 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3140 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3145 @section Exiting Gnus
3146 @cindex exiting Gnus
3148 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3153 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3154 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3155 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3156 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3160 @findex gnus-group-exit
3161 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3162 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3166 @findex gnus-group-quit
3167 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3168 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3171 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3172 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3173 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3174 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3175 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3180 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3181 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3182 trying to customize meta-variables.
3187 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3188 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3189 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3195 @section Group Topics
3198 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3199 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3200 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3201 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3202 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3203 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3207 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3208 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3219 2: alt.religion.emacs
3222 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3224 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3225 13: comp.sources.unix
3228 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3230 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3231 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3232 is a toggling command.)
3234 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3235 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3236 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3237 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3240 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3241 the hook for the group mode:
3244 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3248 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3249 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3250 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3251 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3252 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3256 @node Topic Variables
3257 @subsection Topic Variables
3258 @cindex topic variables
3260 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3261 really neat, I think.
3263 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3264 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3265 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3278 Number of groups in the topic.
3280 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3282 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3285 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3286 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3287 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3290 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3291 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3293 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3294 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3295 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3298 @node Topic Commands
3299 @subsection Topic Commands
3300 @cindex topic commands
3302 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3303 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3304 definitions slightly.
3310 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3311 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3312 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3316 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3317 Move the current group to some other topic
3318 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3319 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3323 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3324 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3328 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3329 Copy the current group to some other topic
3330 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3331 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3335 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3336 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3337 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3341 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3342 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3343 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3347 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3348 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3349 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3350 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3351 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3352 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3353 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3356 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3357 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3361 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3362 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3363 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3367 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3368 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3369 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3373 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3374 Toggle hiding empty topics
3375 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3379 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3380 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3381 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3384 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3385 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3386 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3387 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3391 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3393 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3394 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3395 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3396 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3399 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3400 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3401 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3402 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3406 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3408 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3409 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3410 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3411 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3412 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3413 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3416 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3417 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3418 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3419 expiry process (if any)
3420 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3424 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3425 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3426 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3430 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3431 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3432 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3437 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3438 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3441 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3442 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3443 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3447 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3448 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3449 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3453 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3454 @cindex group parameters
3455 @cindex topic parameters
3457 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3458 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3464 @subsection Topic Sorting
3465 @cindex topic sorting
3467 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3473 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3474 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3475 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3476 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3479 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3480 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3481 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3482 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3485 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3486 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3487 Sort the current topic by group level
3488 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3491 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3492 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3493 Sort the current topic by group score
3494 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3497 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3498 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3499 Sort the current topic by group rank
3500 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3503 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3504 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3505 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3506 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3510 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3513 @node Topic Topology
3514 @subsection Topic Topology
3515 @cindex topic topology
3518 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3524 2: alt.religion.emacs
3527 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3529 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3530 13: comp.sources.unix
3533 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3534 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3535 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3540 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3541 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3545 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3546 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3547 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3548 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3549 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3550 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3552 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3553 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3554 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3557 @node Topic Parameters
3558 @subsection Topic Parameters
3559 @cindex topic parameters
3561 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3562 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3563 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3565 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3570 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3571 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3572 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3577 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3578 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3579 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3580 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3586 2: alt.religion.emacs
3590 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3592 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3593 13: comp.sources.unix
3597 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3598 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3599 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3600 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3601 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3602 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3604 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3605 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3606 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3607 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3608 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3610 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3611 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3612 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3613 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3614 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3615 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3616 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3617 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3620 @node Misc Group Stuff
3621 @section Misc Group Stuff
3624 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3625 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3626 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3627 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3634 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3635 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3636 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3640 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3641 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3642 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3646 @findex gnus-group-mail
3647 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3651 Variables for the group buffer:
3655 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3656 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3657 is called after the group buffer has been
3660 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3661 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3662 is called after the group buffer is
3663 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3666 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3667 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3668 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3669 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3671 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3672 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3673 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3674 whether they are empty or not.
3676 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3677 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3678 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3679 non-ASCII group names.
3683 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3684 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3687 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3688 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3689 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3690 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3694 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3695 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3700 @node Scanning New Messages
3701 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3702 @cindex new messages
3703 @cindex scanning new news
3709 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3710 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3711 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3712 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3713 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3714 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3719 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3720 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3721 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3722 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3723 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3724 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3725 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3727 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3728 @cindex activating groups
3730 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3731 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3736 @findex gnus-group-restart
3737 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3738 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3739 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3743 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3744 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3746 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3747 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3751 @node Group Information
3752 @subsection Group Information
3753 @cindex group information
3754 @cindex information on groups
3761 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3762 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3765 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3766 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3767 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3768 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3769 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3770 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3771 for fetching the file.
3773 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3774 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3778 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3780 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3781 @cindex describing groups
3782 @cindex group description
3783 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3784 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3785 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3789 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3790 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3791 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3798 @findex gnus-version
3799 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3803 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3804 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3807 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3810 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3811 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3815 @node Group Timestamp
3816 @subsection Group Timestamp
3818 @cindex group timestamps
3820 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3821 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3822 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3825 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3828 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3830 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3831 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3834 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3835 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3838 This will result in lines looking like:
3841 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3842 0: custom 19961002T012713
3845 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3846 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3850 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3851 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3856 @subsection File Commands
3857 @cindex file commands
3863 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3864 @vindex gnus-init-file
3865 @cindex reading init file
3866 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3867 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3871 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3872 @cindex saving .newsrc
3873 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3874 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3875 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3878 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3879 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3880 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3885 @node Summary Buffer
3886 @chapter Summary Buffer
3887 @cindex summary buffer
3889 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3890 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3892 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3893 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3895 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3898 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3899 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3900 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3901 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3902 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3903 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3904 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3905 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3906 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3907 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3908 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3909 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3910 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3911 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3912 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3913 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3914 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3915 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3916 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3917 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3918 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3919 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3920 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3921 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3922 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3923 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
3924 or reselecting the current group.
3925 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3926 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3927 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
3931 @node Summary Buffer Format
3932 @section Summary Buffer Format
3933 @cindex summary buffer format
3937 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3938 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3939 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3945 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3946 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3947 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3948 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3951 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3952 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3953 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3954 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3955 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3956 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3957 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3958 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3959 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3960 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3961 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3964 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3965 'mail-extract-address-components)
3968 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3969 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3970 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3971 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3974 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3975 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3977 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3978 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3979 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3980 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3981 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3983 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
3984 the colon after performing an operation.
3986 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3988 The following format specification characters are understood:
3994 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3995 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3997 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3998 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3999 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4001 Full @code{From} header.
4003 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4005 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4006 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4008 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4009 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4010 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4011 may be more thorough.
4013 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4016 Number of lines in the article.
4018 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
4019 methods (like nnfolder).
4021 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4023 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4024 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4026 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4027 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4029 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4030 for adopted articles.
4032 One space for each thread level.
4034 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4039 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4040 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4044 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4046 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4047 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4048 default level. If the difference between
4049 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4050 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4058 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4060 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4066 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4067 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4069 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4070 article has any children.
4076 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4077 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4078 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4079 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4080 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4081 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4084 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4085 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4086 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4087 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4088 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4089 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4091 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4092 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4094 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4097 @node To From Newsgroups
4098 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4102 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4103 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4104 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4105 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4106 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4110 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4111 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4112 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4116 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4117 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4120 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4121 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4124 @findex gnus-extra-header
4125 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4126 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4127 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4130 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4134 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4135 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4136 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4137 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4138 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4139 headers are used instead.
4143 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4144 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4145 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4146 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4149 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4150 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4151 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4152 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4154 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4158 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4160 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4161 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4162 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4163 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4167 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4168 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4175 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4176 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4179 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4180 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4182 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4183 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4184 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4185 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4187 Here are the elements you can play with:
4193 Unprefixed group name.
4195 Current article number.
4197 Current article score.
4201 Number of unread articles in this group.
4203 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4206 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4207 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4208 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4209 and no unselected ones.
4211 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4212 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4214 Subject of the current article.
4216 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4218 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4220 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4222 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4224 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4226 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4230 @node Summary Highlighting
4231 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4235 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4236 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4237 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4238 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4239 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4241 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4242 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4243 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4244 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4246 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4247 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4248 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4249 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4251 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4252 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4253 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4254 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4255 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4256 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4259 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4260 ((> score default) . bold))
4262 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4263 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4267 @node Summary Maneuvering
4268 @section Summary Maneuvering
4269 @cindex summary movement
4271 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4272 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4274 None of these commands select articles.
4279 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4280 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4281 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4282 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4283 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4287 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4288 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4289 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4290 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4291 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4294 @kindex G g (Summary)
4295 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4296 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4297 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4300 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4301 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4302 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4303 to the group buffer.
4305 Variables related to summary movement:
4309 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4310 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4311 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4312 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4313 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4314 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4315 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4316 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4317 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4318 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4319 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4320 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4321 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4322 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4324 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4325 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4326 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4327 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4328 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4329 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4330 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4332 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4334 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4335 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4336 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4337 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4338 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4340 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4341 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4342 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4343 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4344 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4345 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4346 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4347 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4350 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4351 the given number of lines from the top.
4356 @node Choosing Articles
4357 @section Choosing Articles
4358 @cindex selecting articles
4361 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4362 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4366 @node Choosing Commands
4367 @subsection Choosing Commands
4369 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4370 and they all select and display an article.
4372 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4373 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4377 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4379 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4380 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4385 @kindex G n (Summary)
4386 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4388 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4393 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4394 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4395 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4400 @kindex G N (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4402 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4407 @kindex G P (Summary)
4408 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4409 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4412 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4413 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4414 Go to the next article with the same subject
4415 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4418 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4419 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4420 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4421 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4425 @kindex G f (Summary)
4427 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4428 Go to the first unread article
4429 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4433 @kindex G b (Summary)
4435 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4436 Go to the article with the highest score
4437 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4442 @kindex G l (Summary)
4443 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4444 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4447 @kindex G o (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4450 @cindex article history
4451 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4452 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4453 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4454 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4455 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4456 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4461 @kindex G j (Summary)
4462 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4463 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4464 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4469 @node Choosing Variables
4470 @subsection Choosing Variables
4472 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4475 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4476 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4477 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4478 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4479 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4480 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4482 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4483 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4484 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4485 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4487 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4488 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4489 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4490 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4491 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4492 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4493 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4494 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4495 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4496 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4497 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4498 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4499 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4500 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4505 @node Paging the Article
4506 @section Scrolling the Article
4507 @cindex article scrolling
4512 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4513 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4514 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4515 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4516 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4519 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4520 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4521 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4524 @kindex RET (Summary)
4525 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4526 Scroll the current article one line forward
4527 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4530 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4531 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4532 Scroll the current article one line backward
4533 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4537 @kindex A g (Summary)
4539 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4540 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4541 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4542 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4543 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4544 the way it came from the server.
4546 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4547 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4548 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4551 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4556 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4561 @kindex A < (Summary)
4562 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4563 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4564 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4569 @kindex A > (Summary)
4570 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4571 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4575 @kindex A s (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4578 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4579 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4583 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4584 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4589 @node Reply Followup and Post
4590 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4593 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4594 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4595 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4596 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4600 @node Summary Mail Commands
4601 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4603 @cindex composing mail
4605 Commands for composing a mail message:
4611 @kindex S r (Summary)
4613 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4614 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4615 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4616 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4617 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4622 @kindex S R (Summary)
4623 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4624 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4625 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4626 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4627 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4630 @kindex S w (Summary)
4631 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4632 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4633 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4634 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4635 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4638 @kindex S W (Summary)
4639 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4640 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4641 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4642 the process/prefix convention.
4645 @kindex S v (Summary)
4646 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4647 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4648 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4649 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4650 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4651 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4654 @kindex S W (Summary)
4655 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4656 Mail a very wide reply to the current article and include the original
4657 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4658 the process/prefix convention.
4662 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4663 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4664 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4665 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4666 Forward the current article to some other person
4667 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4668 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4669 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4670 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4671 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4672 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4673 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4674 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4675 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4680 @kindex S m (Summary)
4681 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4682 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4683 Send a mail to some other person
4684 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4687 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4688 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4689 @cindex bouncing mail
4690 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4691 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4692 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4693 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4694 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4695 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4696 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4697 very well fail, though.
4700 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4701 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4702 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4703 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4704 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4705 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4706 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4707 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4708 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4709 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4711 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4712 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4713 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4714 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4715 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4717 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4718 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4721 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4722 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4723 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4724 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4725 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4728 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4729 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4730 @cindex crossposting
4731 @cindex excessive crossposting
4732 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4733 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4735 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4736 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4737 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4738 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4739 command understands the process/prefix convention
4740 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4744 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4747 @node Summary Post Commands
4748 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4750 @cindex composing news
4752 Commands for posting a news article:
4758 @kindex S p (Summary)
4759 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4760 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4761 Post an article to the current group
4762 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4767 @kindex S f (Summary)
4768 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4769 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4770 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4774 @kindex S F (Summary)
4776 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4777 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4778 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4779 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4780 process/prefix convention.
4783 @kindex S n (Summary)
4784 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4785 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4786 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4789 @kindex S N (Summary)
4790 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4791 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4792 message through mail and include the original message
4793 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4794 the process/prefix convention.
4797 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4798 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4799 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4800 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4801 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4802 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4803 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4804 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4805 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4806 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4807 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4808 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4809 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4812 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4813 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4815 @cindex making digests
4816 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4817 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4818 process/prefix convention.
4821 @kindex S u (Summary)
4822 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4823 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4824 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4825 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4828 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4831 @node Summary Message Commands
4832 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4836 @kindex S y (Summary)
4837 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4838 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4839 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4840 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4841 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4846 @node Canceling and Superseding
4847 @subsection Canceling Articles
4848 @cindex canceling articles
4849 @cindex superseding articles
4851 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4852 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4854 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4856 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4858 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4859 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4860 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4861 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4862 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4863 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4865 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4866 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4869 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4870 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4871 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4873 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4874 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4875 your original article.
4877 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4879 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4880 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4881 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4884 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4885 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4886 have posted almost the same article twice.
4888 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4889 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4890 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4891 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4892 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4893 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4894 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4895 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4896 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4897 canceled/superseded.
4899 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4902 @node Marking Articles
4903 @section Marking Articles
4904 @cindex article marking
4905 @cindex article ticking
4908 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4910 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4911 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4912 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4914 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4917 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4918 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4919 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4923 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4927 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4928 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4929 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4933 @node Unread Articles
4934 @subsection Unread Articles
4936 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4941 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4942 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4944 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4945 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4946 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4947 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
4948 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
4949 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
4950 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
4953 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4954 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4956 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4957 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4958 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4959 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
4963 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4964 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4966 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4971 @subsection Read Articles
4972 @cindex expirable mark
4974 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4979 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4980 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4981 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4984 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4985 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4988 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4989 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4990 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4993 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4994 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4997 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4998 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5001 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5002 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5005 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5006 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5009 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5010 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5013 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5014 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5017 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5018 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5022 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5023 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5024 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5028 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5029 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5031 One more special mark, though:
5035 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5036 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5038 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5039 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5040 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5041 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5047 @subsection Other Marks
5048 @cindex process mark
5051 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5057 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5058 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5059 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5060 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5061 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5064 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5065 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5066 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5067 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5069 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5070 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{O} in
5071 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5074 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5075 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5076 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5079 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5080 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5081 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5082 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5085 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5086 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5087 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5088 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5089 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5092 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5093 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5094 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5095 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5096 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5097 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5101 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5102 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5103 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5105 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5106 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5107 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5111 @subsection Setting Marks
5112 @cindex setting marks
5114 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5119 @kindex M c (Summary)
5120 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5122 @cindex mark as unread
5123 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5124 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5130 @kindex M t (Summary)
5131 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5132 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5133 @xref{Article Caching}.
5138 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5139 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5140 Mark the current article as dormant
5141 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5145 @kindex M d (Summary)
5147 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5148 Mark the current article as read
5149 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5153 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5154 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5155 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5160 @kindex M k (Summary)
5161 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5162 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5163 and then select the next unread article
5164 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5168 @kindex M K (Summary)
5169 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5170 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5171 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5172 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5175 @kindex M C (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5177 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5178 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5181 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5183 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5184 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5187 @kindex M H (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5189 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5190 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5193 @kindex M h (Summary)
5194 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5195 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5196 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5199 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5200 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5201 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5202 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5205 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5207 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5208 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5212 @kindex M e (Summary)
5214 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5215 Mark the current article as expirable
5216 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5219 @kindex M b (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5221 Set a bookmark in the current article
5222 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5225 @kindex M B (Summary)
5226 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5227 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5228 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5231 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5232 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5233 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5234 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5237 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5239 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5240 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5243 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5244 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5245 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5246 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5247 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5250 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5251 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5252 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5253 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5254 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5255 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5256 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5257 The default is @code{t}.
5260 @node Generic Marking Commands
5261 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5263 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5264 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5265 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5266 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5267 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5270 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5271 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5274 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5275 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5276 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5277 to list in this manual.
5279 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5280 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5281 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5282 article, you could say something like:
5285 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5286 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5287 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5293 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5294 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5298 @node Setting Process Marks
5299 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5300 @cindex setting process marks
5307 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5309 Mark the current article with the process mark
5310 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5311 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5315 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5316 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5317 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5318 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5321 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5323 Remove the process mark from all articles
5324 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5327 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5329 Invert the list of process marked articles
5330 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5333 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5334 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5335 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5336 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5339 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5340 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5341 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5342 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5345 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5346 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5347 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5350 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5351 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5352 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5353 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5356 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5357 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5358 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5359 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5362 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5363 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5364 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5365 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5368 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5370 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5373 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5374 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5375 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5376 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5379 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5381 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5384 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5386 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5387 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5390 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5392 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5393 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5396 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5397 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5398 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5399 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5402 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5404 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5405 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5409 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5410 set process marks based on article body contents.
5417 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5418 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5419 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5422 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5423 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5424 additional articles.
5430 @kindex / / (Summary)
5431 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5432 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5433 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5436 @kindex / a (Summary)
5437 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5438 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5439 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5442 @kindex / x (Summary)
5443 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5444 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5445 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5446 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5450 @kindex / u (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5453 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5454 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5455 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5456 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5459 @kindex / m (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5461 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5462 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5465 @kindex / t (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5467 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5468 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5469 articles younger than that number of days.
5472 @kindex / n (Summary)
5473 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5474 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5475 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5476 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5479 @kindex / w (Summary)
5480 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5481 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5482 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5486 @kindex / v (Summary)
5487 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5488 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5489 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5493 @kindex M S (Summary)
5494 @kindex / E (Summary)
5495 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5496 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5497 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5500 @kindex / D (Summary)
5501 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5502 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5503 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5506 @kindex / * (Summary)
5507 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5508 Include all cached articles in the limit
5509 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5512 @kindex / d (Summary)
5513 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5514 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5515 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5518 @kindex / M (Summary)
5519 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5520 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5523 @kindex / T (Summary)
5524 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5525 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5528 @kindex / c (Summary)
5529 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5530 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5531 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5534 @kindex / C (Summary)
5535 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5536 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5537 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5538 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5546 @cindex article threading
5548 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5549 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5550 hierarchical fashion.
5552 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5553 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5554 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5555 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5556 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5557 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5558 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5560 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5564 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5567 A tree-like article structure.
5570 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5573 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5574 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5575 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5576 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5577 called loose threads.
5579 @item thread gathering
5580 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5582 @item sparse threads
5583 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5584 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5590 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5591 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5595 @node Customizing Threading
5596 @subsection Customizing Threading
5597 @cindex customizing threading
5600 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5601 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5602 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5603 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5608 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5611 @cindex loose threads
5614 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5615 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5616 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5617 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5618 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5619 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5621 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5622 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5623 There are four possible values:
5627 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5628 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5629 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5630 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5631 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5636 @cindex adopting articles
5641 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5642 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5643 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5644 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5647 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5648 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5649 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5650 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5651 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5652 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5653 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5656 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5657 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5658 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5662 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5663 display them after one another.
5666 Don't gather loose threads.
5669 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5670 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5671 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5672 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5673 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5674 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5675 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5676 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5677 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5678 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5679 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5681 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5682 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5683 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5686 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5687 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5688 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5689 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5690 simplification is used.
5692 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5693 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5694 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5695 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5697 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5699 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5705 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5706 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5707 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5708 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5713 (mapconcat 'identity
5714 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5716 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5719 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5722 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5723 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5724 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5725 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5726 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5727 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5729 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5732 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5733 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5734 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5736 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5737 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5740 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5741 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5742 Remove excessive whitespace.
5745 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5748 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5749 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5750 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5751 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5752 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5753 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5754 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5755 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5757 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5758 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5759 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5760 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5761 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5762 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5763 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5764 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5765 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5769 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5770 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5771 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5772 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5774 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5775 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5776 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5779 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5783 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5784 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5790 @node Filling In Threads
5791 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5794 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5795 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5796 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5797 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5798 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5799 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5800 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5801 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5802 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5803 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5804 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5805 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5807 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5808 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5809 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5811 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5812 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5813 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5814 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5815 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5816 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5817 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5818 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5819 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5820 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5821 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5822 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5823 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5824 @code{nil} by default.
5826 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
5827 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
5828 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
5829 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the backend has to fetch
5830 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
5831 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
5832 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
5834 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
5835 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
5836 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
5841 @node More Threading
5842 @subsubsection More Threading
5845 @item gnus-show-threads
5846 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5847 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5848 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5849 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5850 slower and more awkward.
5852 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5853 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5854 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5857 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5858 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5859 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5860 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5861 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5862 threads are expunged.
5864 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5865 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5866 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5869 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5870 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5871 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5872 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
5873 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
5874 result in a new thread.
5876 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5877 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5878 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5881 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5882 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5883 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5884 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5885 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5886 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5887 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5888 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5889 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5890 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5891 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5896 @node Low-Level Threading
5897 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5901 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5902 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5903 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5905 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5906 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5907 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5908 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5909 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5910 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5911 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5912 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5913 meaningful. Here's one example:
5916 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5918 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5919 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5921 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5923 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5930 @node Thread Commands
5931 @subsection Thread Commands
5932 @cindex thread commands
5938 @kindex T k (Summary)
5939 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5940 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5941 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5942 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5943 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5948 @kindex T l (Summary)
5949 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5951 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5952 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5955 @kindex T i (Summary)
5956 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5957 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5958 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5961 @kindex T # (Summary)
5962 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5963 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5964 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5967 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5968 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5969 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5970 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5973 @kindex T T (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5975 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5978 @kindex T s (Summary)
5979 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5980 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5981 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5984 @kindex T h (Summary)
5985 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5986 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5989 @kindex T S (Summary)
5990 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5991 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5994 @kindex T H (Summary)
5995 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5996 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5999 @kindex T t (Summary)
6000 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6001 Re-thread the current article's thread
6002 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6003 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6006 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6007 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6008 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6009 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6013 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6014 understand the numeric prefix.
6019 @kindex T n (Summary)
6021 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6023 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6024 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6025 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6028 @kindex T p (Summary)
6030 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6032 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6033 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6034 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6037 @kindex T d (Summary)
6038 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6039 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6042 @kindex T u (Summary)
6043 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6044 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6047 @kindex T o (Summary)
6048 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6049 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6052 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6053 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6054 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6055 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6056 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6057 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6058 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6059 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6060 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6061 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6062 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6063 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6067 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6068 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6070 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6071 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6072 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6073 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6074 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6075 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6076 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6077 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6078 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6079 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6080 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6082 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6083 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6084 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6085 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6086 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6088 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6089 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6090 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6092 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6093 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6094 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6095 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6096 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6097 ascending article order.
6099 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6100 by number, you could do something like:
6103 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6104 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6105 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6106 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6109 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6110 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6111 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6112 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6113 which the articles arrived.
6115 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6119 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6121 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6122 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6125 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6126 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6127 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6128 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6131 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6132 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6133 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6134 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6135 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6136 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6137 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6138 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6139 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6140 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6141 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6142 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6143 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6145 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6149 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6150 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6151 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6156 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6157 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6158 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6159 @cindex article pre-fetch
6162 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6163 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6164 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6165 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6166 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6168 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6169 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6171 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6172 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6173 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6174 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6175 connection is blocked.
6177 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6178 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6179 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6180 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6182 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6183 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6184 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6185 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6188 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6191 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6192 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6193 happen automatically.
6195 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6196 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6197 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6198 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6199 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6200 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6201 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6203 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6204 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6205 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6206 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6207 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6208 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6209 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6210 data structure as the only parameter.
6212 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6215 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6216 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6217 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6218 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6221 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6224 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6225 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6226 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6228 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6229 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6230 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6231 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6235 Remove articles when they are read.
6238 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6241 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6243 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6244 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6245 @c from the next group.
6248 @node Article Caching
6249 @section Article Caching
6250 @cindex article caching
6253 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6254 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6255 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6256 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6257 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6259 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6261 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6262 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6263 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6264 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6265 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6266 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6267 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6268 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6270 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6271 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6272 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6273 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6274 as dormant, and don't worry.
6276 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6278 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6279 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6280 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6281 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6282 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6283 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6284 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6285 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6286 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6287 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6289 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6290 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6291 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6292 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6293 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6294 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6295 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6296 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6297 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6298 not then be downloaded by this command.
6300 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6301 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6302 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6303 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6304 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6305 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6307 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6308 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6309 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6310 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6311 variables, the group is not cached.
6313 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6314 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6315 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6316 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6317 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6318 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6319 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6320 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6321 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6325 @node Persistent Articles
6326 @section Persistent Articles
6327 @cindex persistent articles
6329 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6330 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6331 useful in my opinion.
6333 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6334 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6335 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6336 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6337 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6338 the expiry going on at the news server.
6340 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6341 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6342 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6348 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6349 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6352 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6353 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6354 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6355 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6359 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6361 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6362 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6363 interested in persistent articles:
6366 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6370 @node Article Backlog
6371 @section Article Backlog
6373 @cindex article backlog
6375 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6376 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6377 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6378 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6379 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6380 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6381 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6382 increase memory usage some.
6384 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6385 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6386 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6387 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6388 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6389 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6390 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6392 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6395 @node Saving Articles
6396 @section Saving Articles
6397 @cindex saving articles
6399 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6400 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6401 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6402 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6403 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6405 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6406 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6407 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6409 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6410 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6411 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6412 deleted before saving.
6418 @kindex O o (Summary)
6420 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6421 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6422 Save the current article using the default article saver
6423 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6426 @kindex O m (Summary)
6427 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6428 Save the current article in mail format
6429 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6432 @kindex O r (Summary)
6433 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6434 Save the current article in rmail format
6435 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6438 @kindex O f (Summary)
6439 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6440 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6441 Save the current article in plain file format
6442 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6445 @kindex O F (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6447 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6448 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6451 @kindex O b (Summary)
6452 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6453 Save the current article body in plain file format
6454 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6457 @kindex O h (Summary)
6458 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6459 Save the current article in mh folder format
6460 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6463 @kindex O v (Summary)
6464 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6465 Save the current article in a VM folder
6466 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6469 @kindex O p (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6471 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6472 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6475 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6476 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6477 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6478 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6479 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6480 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6481 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6482 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6483 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6484 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6485 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6486 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6490 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6491 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6492 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6493 functions below, or you can create your own.
6497 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6498 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6499 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6500 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6501 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6502 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6503 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6505 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6506 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6507 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6508 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6509 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6510 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6512 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6513 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6514 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6515 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6516 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6517 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6518 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6520 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6521 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6522 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6523 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6524 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6526 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6527 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6528 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6529 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6530 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6533 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6534 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6535 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6536 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6537 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6539 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6540 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6541 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6542 reader to use this setting.
6545 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6546 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6547 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6548 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6551 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6552 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6553 available functions that generate names:
6557 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6558 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6559 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6561 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6562 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6563 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6565 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6566 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6567 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6569 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6570 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6571 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6573 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6574 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6575 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6578 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6579 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6580 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6581 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6582 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6586 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6587 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6588 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6589 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6592 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6593 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6594 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6595 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6596 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6597 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6598 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6599 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6600 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6602 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6603 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6604 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6605 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6607 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6608 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6609 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6612 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6613 lots of mail groups called things like
6614 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6615 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6616 following will do just that:
6619 (defun my-save-name (group)
6620 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6621 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6623 (setq gnus-split-methods
6624 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6629 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6630 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6631 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6632 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6633 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6634 all the files in the top level directory
6635 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6636 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6637 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6638 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6640 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6641 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6642 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6643 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6644 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6647 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6651 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6652 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6653 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6656 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6657 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6658 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6659 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6662 @node Decoding Articles
6663 @section Decoding Articles
6664 @cindex decoding articles
6666 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6667 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6670 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6671 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6672 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6673 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6674 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6675 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6679 @cindex article series
6680 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6681 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6682 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6683 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6684 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6686 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6687 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6688 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6690 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6691 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6692 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6694 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6695 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6696 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6699 @node Uuencoded Articles
6700 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6702 @cindex uuencoded articles
6707 @kindex X u (Summary)
6708 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6709 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6710 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6713 @kindex X U (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6715 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6716 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6719 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6720 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6721 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6724 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6725 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6726 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6727 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6731 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6732 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6733 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6734 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6735 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6737 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6738 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6739 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6740 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6743 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6744 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6745 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6746 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6747 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6748 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6752 @node Shell Archives
6753 @subsection Shell Archives
6755 @cindex shell archives
6756 @cindex shared articles
6758 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6759 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6760 some commands to deal with these:
6765 @kindex X s (Summary)
6766 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6767 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6770 @kindex X S (Summary)
6771 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6772 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6775 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6776 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6777 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6780 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6781 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6782 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6783 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6787 @node PostScript Files
6788 @subsection PostScript Files
6794 @kindex X p (Summary)
6795 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6796 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6799 @kindex X P (Summary)
6800 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6801 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6802 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6805 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6807 View the current PostScript series
6808 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6811 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6812 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6813 View and save the current PostScript series
6814 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6819 @subsection Other Files
6823 @kindex X o (Summary)
6824 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6825 Save the current series
6826 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6829 @kindex X b (Summary)
6830 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6831 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6832 doesn't really work yet.
6836 @node Decoding Variables
6837 @subsection Decoding Variables
6839 Adjective, not verb.
6842 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6843 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6844 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6848 @node Rule Variables
6849 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6850 @cindex rule variables
6852 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6853 variables are of the form
6856 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6863 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6864 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6866 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6867 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6870 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6871 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6874 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6875 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6876 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6877 user and default view rules.
6879 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6880 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6881 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6886 @node Other Decode Variables
6887 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6890 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6892 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6893 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6894 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6895 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6896 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6900 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6901 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6904 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6905 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6906 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6909 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6910 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6911 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6912 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6913 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6916 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6917 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6918 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6920 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6921 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6922 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6923 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6924 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6927 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6928 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6929 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6931 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6932 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6933 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6934 looking for files to display.
6936 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6937 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6938 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6941 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6942 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6943 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6946 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6947 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6948 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6951 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6952 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6953 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6956 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6957 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6958 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6959 decoded articles as unread.
6961 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6962 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6963 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6964 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6966 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6967 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6968 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6970 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6971 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6973 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6974 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6975 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6976 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6978 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6979 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6980 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6981 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6982 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6983 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6984 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6985 simply dropped them.
6990 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6991 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6995 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6996 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6997 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6998 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6999 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7000 for you when you post the article.
7002 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7003 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7004 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7005 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7007 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7008 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7009 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7010 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7011 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7012 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7013 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7015 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7016 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7017 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7018 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7019 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7020 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7021 Default is @code{t}.
7027 @subsection Viewing Files
7028 @cindex viewing files
7029 @cindex pseudo-articles
7031 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7032 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7033 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7034 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7035 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7036 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7037 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7039 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7040 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7041 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7042 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7044 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7045 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7046 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7048 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7049 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7050 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7051 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7052 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7054 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7055 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7056 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7057 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7058 a list of parameters to that command.
7060 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7061 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7062 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7064 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7065 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7066 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7069 @node Article Treatment
7070 @section Article Treatment
7072 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7073 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7074 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7075 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7076 these articles easier.
7079 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7080 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7081 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7082 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7083 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7084 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7085 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7086 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7090 @node Article Highlighting
7091 @subsection Article Highlighting
7092 @cindex highlighting
7094 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7095 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7100 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7101 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7102 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7103 Do much highlighting of the current article
7104 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7105 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7108 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7110 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7111 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7112 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7113 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7114 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7115 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7116 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7117 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7118 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7119 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7122 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7123 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7124 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7126 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7129 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7131 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7132 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7133 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7135 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7136 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7137 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7139 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7140 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7141 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7142 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7143 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7144 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7146 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7147 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7148 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7150 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7151 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7152 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7154 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7155 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7156 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7157 that it's a citation.
7159 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7160 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7161 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7163 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7164 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7165 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7167 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7168 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7169 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7170 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7176 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7177 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7178 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7179 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7180 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7181 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7182 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7183 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7188 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7191 @node Article Fontisizing
7192 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7194 @cindex article emphasis
7196 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7197 @kindex W e (Summary)
7198 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7199 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7200 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7201 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7203 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7204 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7205 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7206 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7207 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7208 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7209 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7210 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7214 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7215 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7216 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7225 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7226 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7227 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7228 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7229 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7230 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7231 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7232 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7233 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7234 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7235 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7236 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7237 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7239 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7240 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7241 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7245 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7248 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7250 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7251 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7252 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7253 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7255 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7258 @node Article Hiding
7259 @subsection Article Hiding
7260 @cindex article hiding
7262 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7263 too much cruft in most articles.
7268 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7269 @findex gnus-article-hide
7270 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7271 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7272 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7275 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7276 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7277 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7281 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7282 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7283 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7284 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7287 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7289 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7293 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7295 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7296 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7297 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7298 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7299 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7300 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7304 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7305 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7306 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7307 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7312 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7313 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7314 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7315 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7316 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7317 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7318 articles that have signatures in them do:
7320 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7322 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7324 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7325 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7327 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7330 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7335 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7336 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7337 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7338 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7341 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7342 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7345 @cindex stripping advertisements
7346 @cindex advertisements
7347 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7348 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7349 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7350 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7351 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7352 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7353 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7354 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7355 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7356 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7360 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7361 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7362 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7363 customizing the hiding:
7367 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7368 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7369 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7370 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7371 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7372 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7373 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7378 Starting point of the hidden text.
7380 Ending point of the hidden text.
7382 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7384 Number of lines of hidden text.
7387 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7388 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7389 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7390 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7391 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7396 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7397 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7399 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7400 following two variables:
7403 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7404 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7405 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7406 50), hide the cited text.
7408 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7409 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7410 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7415 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7416 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7417 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7418 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7419 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7420 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7424 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7425 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7426 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7428 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7429 citation customization.
7431 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7435 @node Article Washing
7436 @subsection Article Washing
7438 @cindex article washing
7440 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7441 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7443 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7444 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7447 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7448 articles by default.
7453 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7454 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7458 @kindex W l (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7460 Remove page breaks from the current article
7461 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7465 @kindex W r (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7467 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7468 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7469 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7470 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7471 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7473 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7474 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7475 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7476 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7480 @kindex W t (Summary)
7482 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7483 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7484 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7487 @kindex W v (Summary)
7488 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7489 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7490 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7493 @kindex W o (Summary)
7494 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7495 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7498 @kindex W d (Summary)
7499 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7500 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7502 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7504 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7505 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7506 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7507 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7510 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7511 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7512 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7513 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7516 @kindex W w (Summary)
7517 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7518 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7520 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7524 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7525 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7526 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7529 @kindex W C (Summary)
7530 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7531 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7532 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7535 @kindex W c (Summary)
7536 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7537 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7538 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7539 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7540 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7543 @kindex W q (Summary)
7544 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7545 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7546 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7547 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7548 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7549 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7550 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7551 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7552 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7555 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7556 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7557 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7558 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7559 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7560 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7561 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7563 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7566 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7567 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7568 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7569 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7570 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7573 @kindex W h (Summary)
7574 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7575 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7576 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7577 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7579 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7582 @kindex W f (Summary)
7584 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7585 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7586 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7587 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7594 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7595 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7596 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7597 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7598 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7599 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7600 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7601 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7602 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7603 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7604 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7605 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7606 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7607 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7608 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7609 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7610 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7611 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7612 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7613 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7617 @kindex W b (Summary)
7618 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7619 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7620 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7623 @kindex W B (Summary)
7624 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7625 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7626 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7629 @kindex W p (Summary)
7630 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7631 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7632 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7633 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7634 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7635 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7636 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7639 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7640 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7641 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7642 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7645 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7646 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7647 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7648 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7651 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7652 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7653 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7654 lines with a single empty line.
7655 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7658 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7659 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7660 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7661 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7664 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7665 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7666 Do all the three commands above
7667 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7670 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7671 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7672 Remove all blank lines
7673 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7676 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7677 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7678 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7679 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7682 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7683 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7684 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7685 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7689 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7692 @node Article Buttons
7693 @subsection Article Buttons
7696 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7697 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7698 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7699 button on these references.
7701 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7702 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7703 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7708 @item gnus-button-alist
7709 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7710 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7713 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7719 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7720 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7721 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7724 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7725 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7726 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7729 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7730 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7731 avoid false matches.
7734 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7737 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7738 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7742 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7745 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7748 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7749 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7750 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7751 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7752 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7755 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7758 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7760 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7761 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7762 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7763 default values of the variables above.
7765 @item gnus-article-button-face
7766 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7767 Face used on buttons.
7769 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7770 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7771 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7775 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7779 @subsection Article Date
7781 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7782 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7783 when the article was sent.
7788 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7789 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7790 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7791 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7794 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7795 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7797 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7798 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7801 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7802 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7803 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7806 @kindex W T p (Summary)
7807 @findex gnus-article-date-english
7808 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
7809 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
7812 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7813 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7814 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7815 @findex format-time-string
7816 Display the date using a user-defined format
7817 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7818 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7819 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7820 for a list of possible format specs.
7823 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7824 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7825 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7826 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7827 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7828 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7831 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
7834 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7835 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7838 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7839 into wonderful absurdities.
7841 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7844 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7847 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7848 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7852 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7853 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7854 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7855 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7856 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7857 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7858 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7862 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7863 preferred format automatically.
7866 @node Article Signature
7867 @subsection Article Signature
7869 @cindex article signature
7871 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7872 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7873 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7874 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7875 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7876 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7877 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7878 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7879 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7882 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7883 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7884 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7885 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7886 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7887 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7888 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7889 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7892 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7895 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7896 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7897 signature when displaying articles.
7901 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7904 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7907 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7908 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7910 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7911 in question is not a signature.
7914 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7915 listed above. Here's an example:
7918 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7919 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7922 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7923 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7924 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7925 signature after all.
7928 @node Article Miscellania
7929 @subsection Article Miscellania
7933 @kindex A t (Summary)
7934 @findex gnus-article-babel
7935 Translate the article from one language to another
7936 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7942 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7943 @cindex MIME decoding
7945 @cindex viewing attachments
7947 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7948 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7954 @kindex K v (Summary)
7955 View the @sc{mime} part.
7958 @kindex K o (Summary)
7959 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7962 @kindex K c (Summary)
7963 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7966 @kindex K e (Summary)
7967 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7970 @kindex K i (Summary)
7971 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7974 @kindex K | (Summary)
7975 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7978 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7983 @kindex K b (Summary)
7984 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7985 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7989 @kindex K m (Summary)
7990 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7991 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7992 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7993 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7994 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7997 @kindex X m (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7999 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8000 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8001 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8004 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8005 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8006 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8007 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8010 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8011 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8012 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8015 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8016 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8017 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8019 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8020 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8021 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8022 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8023 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8024 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8027 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8028 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8029 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8036 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8037 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8038 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8039 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8042 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8045 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8049 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8050 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8051 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8052 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8053 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
8055 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8056 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8057 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8058 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8059 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8060 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8061 save all jpegs into some directory).
8063 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8066 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8067 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8069 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8070 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8071 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8072 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8073 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8076 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8077 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8078 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8080 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8081 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8082 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8083 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8085 Ready-made functions include@*
8086 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8087 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8088 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8089 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8090 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8091 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8092 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8093 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8094 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8095 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8096 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8097 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8099 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8100 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8102 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8103 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8104 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8107 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8108 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8109 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8110 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8114 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8123 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8124 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8125 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8126 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8127 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8128 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8129 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8131 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8132 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8133 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match full group names) and
8134 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8136 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8137 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
8138 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8139 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8140 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
8141 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8142 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
8143 something some agents insist on having in there.
8145 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8146 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8147 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8148 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8149 quoted-printable header encoding.
8151 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8152 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8153 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8157 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8160 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8161 means encode all charsets),
8163 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8164 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8165 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8172 @cindex coding system aliases
8173 @cindex preferred charset
8175 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8177 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8178 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8181 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8182 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8185 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8186 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8188 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8191 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8194 This will almost do the right thing.
8196 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8200 (codepage-setup 1251)
8201 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8205 @node Article Commands
8206 @section Article Commands
8213 @kindex A P (Summary)
8214 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8215 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8216 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8217 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8218 run just before printing the buffer.
8223 @node Summary Sorting
8224 @section Summary Sorting
8225 @cindex summary sorting
8227 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8228 can't really see why you'd want that.
8233 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8234 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8235 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8238 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8239 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8240 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8243 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8244 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8245 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8248 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8249 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8250 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8253 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8254 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8255 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8258 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8259 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8260 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8263 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8264 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8265 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8268 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8269 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8270 Sort using the default sorting method
8271 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8274 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8275 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8276 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8277 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8278 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8282 @node Finding the Parent
8283 @section Finding the Parent
8284 @cindex parent articles
8285 @cindex referring articles
8290 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8291 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8292 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8293 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8294 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8295 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8296 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8297 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8298 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8300 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8301 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8302 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8303 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8304 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8308 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8309 @kindex A R (Summary)
8310 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8311 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8314 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8315 @kindex A T (Summary)
8316 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8317 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8318 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8319 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8320 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8321 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8322 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8324 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8325 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8326 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8327 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8328 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8329 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8332 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8333 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8335 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8336 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8337 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8338 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8339 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8340 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8341 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8344 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8345 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8346 by giving this command a prefix.
8348 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8349 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8350 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8351 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8352 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8353 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8356 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8357 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8358 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8361 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8362 then ask Deja if that fails:
8365 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8367 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8370 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8371 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8372 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8373 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8374 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8375 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8378 @node Alternative Approaches
8379 @section Alternative Approaches
8381 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8382 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8385 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8386 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8391 @subsection Pick and Read
8392 @cindex pick and read
8394 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8395 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8396 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8397 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8399 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8400 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8401 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8402 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8403 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8404 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8406 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8411 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8412 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8413 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8414 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8415 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8416 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8417 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8418 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8421 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8422 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8423 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8424 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8428 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8429 Unpick the thread or article
8430 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8431 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8432 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8433 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8434 the thread or article at that line.
8438 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8439 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8440 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8441 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8442 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8443 will still be visible when you are reading.
8447 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8448 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8449 which is mapped to the same function
8450 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8452 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8455 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8458 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8459 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8461 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8462 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8463 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8465 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8466 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8467 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8468 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8469 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8470 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8471 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8475 @subsection Binary Groups
8476 @cindex binary groups
8478 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8479 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8480 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8481 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8482 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8483 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8484 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8487 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8488 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8489 command, when you have turned on this mode
8490 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8492 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8493 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8497 @section Tree Display
8500 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8501 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8502 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8503 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8506 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8509 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8510 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8511 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8513 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8514 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8515 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8516 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8517 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8519 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8520 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8521 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8522 default is @code{modeline}.
8524 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8525 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8526 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8527 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8528 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8529 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8530 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8536 The name of the poster.
8538 The @code{From} header.
8540 The number of the article.
8542 The opening bracket.
8544 The closing bracket.
8549 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8551 Variables related to the display are:
8554 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8555 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8556 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8557 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8558 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8559 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8561 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8562 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8563 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8564 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8568 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8569 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8570 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8571 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8572 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8573 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8574 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8575 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8576 other windows displayed next to it.
8578 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8579 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8580 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8581 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8582 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8583 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8584 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8588 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8591 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8601 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8605 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8606 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8608 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8610 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8615 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8616 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8617 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8620 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8621 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8622 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8623 (gnus-add-configuration
8627 (summary 0.75 point)
8632 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8635 @node Mail Group Commands
8636 @section Mail Group Commands
8637 @cindex mail group commands
8639 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8640 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8642 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8643 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8648 @kindex B e (Summary)
8649 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8650 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8651 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8652 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8653 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8656 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8657 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8658 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8659 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8660 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8661 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8664 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8665 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8666 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8667 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8668 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8669 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8672 @kindex B m (Summary)
8674 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8675 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8676 Move the article from one mail group to another
8677 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8678 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8681 @kindex B c (Summary)
8683 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8684 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8685 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8686 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8687 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8690 @kindex B B (Summary)
8691 @cindex crosspost mail
8692 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8693 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8694 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8695 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8696 be properly updated.
8699 @kindex B i (Summary)
8700 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8701 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8702 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8703 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8706 @kindex B r (Summary)
8707 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8708 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8709 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8710 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8711 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8712 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8713 (which is the default).
8717 @kindex B w (Summary)
8719 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8720 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8721 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8722 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8723 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8724 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8727 @kindex B q (Summary)
8728 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8729 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8730 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8731 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8734 @kindex B t (Summary)
8735 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8736 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8737 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8740 @kindex B p (Summary)
8741 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8742 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8743 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8744 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8745 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8746 article from your news server (or rather, from
8747 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8748 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8749 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8750 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8751 just not have arrived yet.
8755 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8756 @cindex moving articles
8757 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8758 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8759 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8760 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8761 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
8762 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
8763 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
8766 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8767 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8768 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8769 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8773 @node Various Summary Stuff
8774 @section Various Summary Stuff
8777 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8778 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8779 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8780 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8784 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8785 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8786 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8788 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8789 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8790 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8791 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8792 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8793 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8796 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8797 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8798 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8799 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8800 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8802 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8803 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8804 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8807 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8808 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8809 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8810 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8811 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8812 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8813 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8814 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8815 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8816 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8818 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8819 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8820 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8821 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8822 list of articles to be selected.
8824 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8825 the list in one particular group:
8828 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8829 (if (string= group "some.group")
8830 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8837 @node Summary Group Information
8838 @subsection Summary Group Information
8843 @kindex H f (Summary)
8844 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8845 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8846 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8847 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8848 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8849 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8850 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8851 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8852 be used for fetching the file.
8855 @kindex H d (Summary)
8856 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8857 Give a brief description of the current group
8858 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8859 rereading the description from the server.
8862 @kindex H h (Summary)
8863 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8864 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8865 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8868 @kindex H i (Summary)
8869 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8870 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8874 @node Searching for Articles
8875 @subsection Searching for Articles
8880 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8881 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8882 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8883 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8886 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8887 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8888 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8889 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8893 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8894 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8895 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8896 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8897 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8898 search backward instead.
8900 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8901 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8904 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8905 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8906 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8907 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8910 @node Summary Generation Commands
8911 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8916 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8917 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8918 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8921 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8922 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8923 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8924 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8929 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8930 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8936 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8937 @kindex A D (Summary)
8938 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8939 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8940 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8941 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8942 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8943 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8944 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8945 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8949 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8950 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8951 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8952 several documents into one biiig group
8953 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8954 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8955 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8956 command understands the process/prefix convention
8957 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8960 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8961 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8962 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8963 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8964 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8965 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8969 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8970 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8971 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8974 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8975 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8976 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8977 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8980 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8981 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8982 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8983 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8988 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8989 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8990 @cindex summary exit
8991 @cindex exiting groups
8993 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8994 group and return you to the group buffer.
9000 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9002 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9003 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9004 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9005 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9006 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9007 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9008 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9009 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9010 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9011 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9012 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9016 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9018 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9019 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9020 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9024 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9026 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9027 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9028 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9029 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9032 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9033 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9034 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9035 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9038 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9039 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9040 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9041 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9044 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9045 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9046 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9047 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9048 all articles, both read and unread.
9052 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9053 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9054 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9055 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9056 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9057 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9058 articles, both read and unread.
9061 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9062 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9063 Exit the group and go to the next group
9064 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9067 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9068 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9069 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9070 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9073 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9074 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9075 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9076 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9077 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9078 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9081 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9082 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9083 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9084 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9086 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9087 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9088 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9089 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9090 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9091 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9092 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9093 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9094 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9095 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9096 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9097 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9099 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9101 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9102 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9103 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9104 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9105 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9106 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9107 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9108 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9109 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9112 @node Crosspost Handling
9113 @section Crosspost Handling
9117 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9118 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9119 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9120 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9121 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9122 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9125 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9126 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9127 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9128 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9129 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9131 @cindex cross-posting
9134 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9135 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9136 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9137 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9138 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9139 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9140 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9141 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9142 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9143 the cross reference mechanism.
9145 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9146 @cindex overview.fmt
9147 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9148 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9149 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9150 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9151 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9152 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9155 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9156 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9157 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9162 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9165 @node Duplicate Suppression
9166 @section Duplicate Suppression
9168 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9169 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9170 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9171 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9176 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9177 is evil and not very common.
9180 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9181 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9184 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9185 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9188 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9191 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9192 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9194 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9195 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9196 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9197 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9198 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9199 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9200 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9203 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9204 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9205 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9206 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9207 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9211 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9212 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9213 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9215 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9216 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9217 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9218 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9219 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9220 session are suppressed.
9222 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9223 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9224 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9225 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9227 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9228 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9229 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9230 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9233 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9234 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9235 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9236 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9237 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9238 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9239 to you to figure out, I think.
9244 Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
9249 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9255 @item mm-verify-option
9256 @vindex mm-verify-option
9257 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9258 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9259 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9261 @item mm-decrypt-option
9262 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9263 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9264 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9265 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9269 @node Article Buffer
9270 @chapter Article Buffer
9271 @cindex article buffer
9273 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9274 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9275 tell Gnus otherwise.
9278 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9279 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9280 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9281 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9282 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9286 @node Hiding Headers
9287 @section Hiding Headers
9288 @cindex hiding headers
9289 @cindex deleting headers
9291 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9292 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9294 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9295 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9296 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9297 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9298 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9299 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9300 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9301 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9302 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9304 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9308 @item gnus-visible-headers
9309 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9310 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9311 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9312 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9314 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9315 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9318 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9321 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9324 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9325 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9326 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9327 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9328 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9329 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9331 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9332 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9335 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9338 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9341 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9342 variable will have no effect.
9346 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9347 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9348 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9349 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9350 the headers are to be displayed.
9352 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9353 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9356 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9359 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9360 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9362 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9363 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9364 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9365 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9366 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9367 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9368 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9371 These conditions are:
9374 Remove all empty headers.
9376 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9377 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9379 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9382 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9385 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9386 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9388 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9391 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9393 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9396 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9399 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9400 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9403 This is also the default value for this variable.
9407 @section Using @sc{mime}
9410 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9411 while people stand around yawning.
9413 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9414 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9416 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9417 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9418 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9420 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9421 @findex gnus-display-mime
9422 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9423 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9424 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9425 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9427 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9431 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9433 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9434 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9435 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9437 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9438 @item M-RET (Article)
9440 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9441 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9443 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9445 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9446 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9448 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9450 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9451 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9453 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9455 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9456 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9458 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9460 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9461 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9462 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9463 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9464 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9465 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9467 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9469 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9470 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9472 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9474 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9475 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9476 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9477 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9478 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9481 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
9483 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
9484 viewer is available, use an external viewer
9485 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
9487 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
9489 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
9490 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
9492 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9494 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9496 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9498 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9499 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9503 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9504 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9507 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9508 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9509 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9510 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9511 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9512 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9513 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9514 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9515 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9517 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9519 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9522 @node Customizing Articles
9523 @section Customizing Articles
9524 @cindex article customization
9526 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9527 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9528 called automatically when you select the articles.
9530 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9531 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9532 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9533 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9535 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9536 for sensible values.
9540 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9543 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9546 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9549 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9552 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9556 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9557 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9558 regexps in the list.
9561 A list where the first element is not a string:
9563 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9564 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9565 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9569 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9574 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9575 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9576 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9577 considered to contain just a single part.
9579 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9580 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9581 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9582 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9583 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9584 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9585 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9587 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9588 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9589 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9590 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9593 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9594 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9595 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9596 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9597 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9598 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9599 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9600 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9601 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9602 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9603 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9604 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9605 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9606 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9607 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9608 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9609 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9610 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9611 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9612 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9613 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9614 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9615 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9616 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9617 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9618 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9619 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9620 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9621 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9622 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9623 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9624 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9625 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9626 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9627 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9628 @item gnus-treat-translate
9631 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9632 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9633 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9634 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9635 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9639 @node Article Keymap
9640 @section Article Keymap
9642 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9643 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9644 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9645 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9648 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9653 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9654 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9655 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9658 @kindex DEL (Article)
9659 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9660 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9663 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9664 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9665 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9666 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9667 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9670 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9671 @findex gnus-article-mail
9672 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9673 given a prefix, include the mail.
9677 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9678 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9679 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9683 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9684 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9685 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9688 @kindex TAB (Article)
9689 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9690 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9691 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9694 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9695 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9696 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9702 @section Misc Article
9706 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9707 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9708 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9709 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9712 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9713 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9715 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9716 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9718 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9719 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9720 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9721 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9722 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9723 the contents of the article buffer.
9725 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9726 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9727 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9729 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9730 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9731 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9732 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9734 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9735 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9736 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9737 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9738 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9743 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9744 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9747 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9750 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9752 @item gnus-break-pages
9753 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9754 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9755 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9756 paging will not be done.
9758 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9759 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9760 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9765 @node Composing Messages
9766 @chapter Composing Messages
9767 @cindex composing messages
9770 @cindex sending mail
9776 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9777 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9778 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9779 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9780 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9781 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9784 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9785 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9786 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9787 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9788 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9789 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9790 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9791 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
9794 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9795 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9801 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9804 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9805 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9806 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9807 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9809 @item gnus-add-to-list
9810 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9811 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9812 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9817 @node Posting Server
9818 @section Posting Server
9820 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9821 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9823 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9825 @vindex gnus-post-method
9827 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
9828 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
9829 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
9830 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
9831 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9832 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9833 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9836 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9839 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9840 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9841 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9842 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
9844 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9845 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9847 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9848 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9851 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
9852 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
9856 @section Mail and Post
9858 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9862 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9863 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9864 @cindex mailing lists
9866 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9867 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9868 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9869 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9870 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9871 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9872 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9873 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9874 still a pain, though.
9878 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9879 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9880 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9883 @findex ispell-message
9885 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9888 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9889 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9892 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9896 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
9897 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9899 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9902 Modify to suit your needs.
9905 @node Archived Messages
9906 @section Archived Messages
9907 @cindex archived messages
9908 @cindex sent messages
9910 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9911 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9912 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9913 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9916 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9917 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9918 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9922 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9923 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9924 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9925 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9928 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9929 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
9930 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9931 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9934 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9935 '(nnfolder "archive"
9936 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9937 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9938 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9941 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9943 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9944 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9945 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9947 This variable can be used to do the following:
9951 Messages will be saved in that group.
9953 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
9954 message will not be stored in the select method given by
9955 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
9956 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
9957 has the default value shown above. Then setting
9958 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
9959 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
9960 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
9962 @item a list of strings
9963 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9964 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9965 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9967 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9972 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9974 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9977 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9979 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9982 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9984 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9985 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9986 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9987 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9992 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9993 '((if (message-news-p)
9998 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9999 messages in one file per month:
10002 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10003 '((if (message-news-p)
10005 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10008 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10009 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10011 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10012 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10013 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10014 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10015 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10016 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10017 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10018 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10019 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10020 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10022 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10023 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10024 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10025 this will disable archiving.
10028 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10029 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10030 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10031 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10032 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10035 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10036 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10037 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10040 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10041 but the latter is the preferred method.
10043 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10044 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10045 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10050 @node Posting Styles
10051 @section Posting Styles
10052 @cindex posting styles
10055 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10057 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10058 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10059 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10062 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10063 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10064 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10065 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10066 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10071 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10072 (organization "What me?"))
10074 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10075 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10076 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10079 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10080 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10081 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10082 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10083 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10084 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10085 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10086 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10088 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10089 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10090 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10091 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10092 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10093 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10094 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10095 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10096 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10098 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10099 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10100 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10101 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10102 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10103 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10104 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10105 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10106 result is thrown away.
10108 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10109 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10110 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10111 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10112 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10113 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10115 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10116 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10117 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10119 @findex message-mail-p
10120 @findex message-news-p
10122 So here's a new example:
10125 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10127 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10129 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10130 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10132 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10133 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10134 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10136 (signature my-news-signature))
10137 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10138 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10139 ((posting-from-work-p)
10140 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10141 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10142 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10143 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10145 (From (save-excursion
10146 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10147 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10149 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10152 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10153 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10154 if you fill many roles.
10161 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10162 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10163 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10164 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10165 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10167 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10168 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10169 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10170 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10171 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10175 @vindex nndraft-directory
10176 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10177 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10178 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10179 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10180 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10181 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10183 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10184 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10187 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10188 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10189 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10190 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10191 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10192 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10193 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10194 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10195 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10196 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10197 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10198 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10199 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10200 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10202 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10203 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10204 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10206 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10207 @kindex D e (Draft)
10208 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10209 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10210 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10212 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10215 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10216 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10217 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10218 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10219 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10220 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10221 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10224 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10225 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10226 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10229 @node Rejected Articles
10230 @section Rejected Articles
10231 @cindex rejected articles
10233 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10234 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10235 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10236 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10238 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10239 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10240 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10241 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10242 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10244 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10245 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10246 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10252 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10253 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10254 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10256 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10257 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10261 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10262 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10265 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10266 to 700, for your own safety.
10268 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10269 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10273 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10276 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10277 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10280 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10283 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10284 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{C-c
10285 C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{C-c C-m c
10286 p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c C-m c s} to
10287 encrypt using S/MIME.
10289 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10290 you've typed it correctly.
10292 @node Select Methods
10293 @chapter Select Methods
10294 @cindex foreign groups
10295 @cindex select methods
10297 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10298 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10299 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10300 personal mail group.
10302 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10303 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10304 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10305 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10306 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10307 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10309 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10310 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10312 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10315 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10316 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10317 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10318 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10319 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10321 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10324 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10325 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10326 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10327 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10328 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10329 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10330 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10334 @node Server Buffer
10335 @section Server Buffer
10337 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10338 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10339 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10340 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10341 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10342 backend represents a virtual server.
10344 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10345 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10346 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10347 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10349 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10350 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10351 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10352 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10353 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10354 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10355 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10357 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10358 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10361 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10362 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10363 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10364 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10365 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10366 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10367 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10370 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10371 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10374 @node Server Buffer Format
10375 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10376 @cindex server buffer format
10378 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10379 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10380 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10381 variable, with some simple extensions:
10386 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10389 The name of this server.
10392 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10395 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10398 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10399 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10400 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10401 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10411 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10414 @node Server Commands
10415 @subsection Server Commands
10416 @cindex server commands
10422 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10423 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10427 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10428 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10431 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10432 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10433 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10437 @findex gnus-server-exit
10438 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10442 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10443 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10447 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10448 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10452 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10453 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10457 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10458 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10462 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10463 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10464 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10469 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10470 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10471 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10472 a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
10477 @node Example Methods
10478 @subsection Example Methods
10480 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10483 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10486 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10492 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10493 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10496 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10497 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10499 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10500 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10504 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10507 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10508 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10510 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10511 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10512 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10516 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10519 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10522 Here's the method for a public spool:
10526 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10527 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10533 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10534 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10535 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10536 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10537 should probably look something like this:
10541 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10542 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10543 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10544 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10547 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10548 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10549 configuration to the example above:
10552 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10555 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10556 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10557 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10561 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10562 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10563 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10564 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10567 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10568 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10569 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10570 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10573 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10574 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10576 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10577 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10579 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10580 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10581 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10583 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10585 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10586 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10587 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10588 will contain the following:
10598 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10599 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10600 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10603 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10604 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10605 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10608 @node Server Variables
10609 @subsection Server Variables
10611 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10612 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10613 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10614 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10615 won't change the "derived" variables.
10617 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10618 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10619 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10620 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10621 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10622 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10623 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10624 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10625 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10629 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10630 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10631 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10635 @node Servers and Methods
10636 @subsection Servers and Methods
10638 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10639 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10640 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10641 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10645 @node Unavailable Servers
10646 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10648 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10649 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10650 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10651 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10652 actually the case or not.
10654 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10655 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10656 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10657 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10658 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10659 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10660 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10661 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10663 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10664 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10666 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
10667 with the following commands:
10673 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10674 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10675 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10679 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10680 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10681 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10685 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10686 Mark the current server as unreachable
10687 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10690 @kindex M-o (Server)
10691 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10692 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10693 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10696 @kindex M-c (Server)
10697 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10698 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10699 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10703 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10704 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10705 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10711 @section Getting News
10712 @cindex reading news
10713 @cindex news backends
10715 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10716 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10717 or it can read from a local spool.
10720 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10721 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10726 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10729 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10730 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10731 server as the, uhm, address.
10733 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10734 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10735 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10736 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10738 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10739 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10740 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10742 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10747 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10748 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10749 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10751 @cindex authentification
10752 @cindex nntp authentification
10753 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10754 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10755 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10756 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10757 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10758 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10759 present in this hook.
10761 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10762 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10763 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10764 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10765 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10766 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10767 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10768 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10769 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10770 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10771 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10772 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10776 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10779 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
10781 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10782 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
10783 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
10784 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
10785 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
10786 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
10787 @samp{force} is explained below.
10791 Here's an example file:
10794 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10795 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10798 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10799 have to be first, for instance.
10801 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10802 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10803 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10804 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10805 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10806 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10807 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10809 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10810 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10816 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10817 previously mentioned.
10819 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10821 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10822 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10823 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10824 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10825 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10828 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10829 '(("innd" (ding))))
10832 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10834 The default value is
10837 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10838 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
10839 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10842 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10843 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10845 @item nntp-maximum-request
10846 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10847 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10848 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10849 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10850 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10851 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10852 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10854 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10855 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10856 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10857 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10858 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10859 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10860 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10861 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10862 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10863 no timeouts are done.
10865 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10866 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10867 @c @cindex PPP connections
10868 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10869 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10870 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10871 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10872 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10873 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10874 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10875 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10876 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10877 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10879 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10880 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10881 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10882 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10883 @c described above.
10885 @item nntp-server-hook
10886 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10887 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10890 @item nntp-buggy-select
10891 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10892 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10894 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10895 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10896 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10897 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10900 @item nntp-xover-commands
10901 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10904 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10905 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10909 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10910 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10911 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10912 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10913 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10914 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10915 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10916 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10917 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10918 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10919 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10921 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10922 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10923 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10925 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10926 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10927 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10928 server closes connection.
10930 @item nntp-record-commands
10931 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10932 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10933 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10934 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10935 that doesn't seem to work.
10937 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10938 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10939 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
10940 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
10941 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
10942 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
10943 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
10944 indirect ones (two pre-made).
10948 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
10949 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
10950 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
10954 @node Direct Functions
10955 @subsubsection Direct Functions
10956 @cindex direct connection functions
10958 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
10959 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
10960 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
10961 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
10964 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10965 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10966 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10969 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10970 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10971 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10972 you must have SSLay installed
10973 (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10974 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
10975 define a server as follows:
10978 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10980 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10982 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10983 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10984 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10985 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10988 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
10989 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
10990 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
10991 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
10992 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
10993 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
10994 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
10995 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
10999 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11000 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11001 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11004 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11005 session, which is not a good idea.
11009 @node Indirect Functions
11010 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11011 @cindex indirect connection functions
11013 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11014 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11015 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11016 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11017 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11018 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11021 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11022 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11023 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11024 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11025 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11027 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11030 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11031 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11032 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11033 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11036 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11037 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11038 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11039 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11041 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11044 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11045 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11046 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11049 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11050 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11051 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11052 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11054 @item nntp-via-user-password
11055 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11056 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11058 @item nntp-via-envuser
11059 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11060 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11061 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11062 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11064 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11065 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11066 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11067 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11074 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11079 @item nntp-via-user-name
11080 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11081 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11083 @item nntp-via-address
11084 @vindex nntp-via-address
11085 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11090 @node Common Variables
11091 @subsubsection Common Variables
11093 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11094 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11099 @item nntp-pre-command
11100 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11101 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11102 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11103 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11104 wrapper for instance.
11107 @vindex nntp-address
11108 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11110 @item nntp-port-number
11111 @vindex nntp-port-number
11112 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11114 @item nntp-end-of-line
11115 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11116 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11117 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11118 using a non native connection function.
11120 @item nntp-telnet-command
11121 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11122 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11123 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11124 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11126 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11127 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11128 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11135 @subsection News Spool
11139 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11140 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11141 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11144 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11145 anything else) as the address.
11147 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11148 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11149 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11150 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11154 @item nnspool-inews-program
11155 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11156 Program used to post an article.
11158 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11159 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11160 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11162 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11163 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11164 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11165 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11167 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11168 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11169 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11170 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11172 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11173 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11174 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11176 @item nnspool-active-file
11177 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11178 The path to the active file.
11180 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11181 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11182 The path to the group descriptions file.
11184 @item nnspool-history-file
11185 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11186 The path to the news history file.
11188 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11189 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11190 The path to the active date file.
11192 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11193 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11194 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11197 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11198 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11200 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11201 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11202 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11208 @section Getting Mail
11209 @cindex reading mail
11212 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11216 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11217 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11218 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11219 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11220 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11221 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11222 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11223 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11224 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11225 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11226 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11227 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
11228 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11232 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11233 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11235 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11236 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11237 of a culture shock.
11239 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11240 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11242 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11243 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11244 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11245 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11247 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11249 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11250 deleted? How awful!
11252 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11253 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11254 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11255 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11258 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11259 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11260 they want to treat a message.
11262 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11263 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11264 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11265 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11266 archived somewhere else.
11268 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11269 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11270 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11271 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11272 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11274 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11275 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11276 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11278 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11279 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11282 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11283 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11284 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11285 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11286 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11288 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11289 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11290 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11291 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11292 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11293 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11297 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11298 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11300 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11301 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11302 and things will happen automatically.
11304 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11305 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11308 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
11309 '((nnml "private")))
11312 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
11313 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11314 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11315 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11316 like any other group.
11318 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11321 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11322 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11323 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11327 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11328 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11329 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11332 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11333 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11334 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11337 @node Splitting Mail
11338 @subsection Splitting Mail
11339 @cindex splitting mail
11340 @cindex mail splitting
11342 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11343 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11344 to be split into groups.
11347 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11348 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11349 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11350 ("mail.other" "")))
11353 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11354 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11355 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11356 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11357 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11358 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11359 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11362 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11365 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11366 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11367 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11368 mail belongs in that group.
11370 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11371 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11372 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11373 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11374 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11375 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11377 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11378 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11379 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11380 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11381 thinks should carry this mail message.
11383 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11384 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11385 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11386 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11388 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11389 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11390 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11391 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11392 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11394 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11397 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11398 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11399 links. If that's the case for you, set
11400 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11401 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11403 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11404 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11405 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11406 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11407 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11408 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11411 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11412 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11413 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11414 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11415 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11416 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11417 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11418 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11419 month's rent money.
11423 @subsection Mail Sources
11425 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11426 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11430 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11431 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11432 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11436 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11437 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11439 @cindex mail server
11442 @cindex mail source
11444 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11445 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11450 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11453 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11454 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11455 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11458 The following mail source types are available:
11462 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11468 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11469 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11472 An example file mail source:
11475 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11478 Or using the default path:
11484 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11485 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11486 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11489 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11493 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11496 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11500 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11503 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11505 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11508 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11512 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11513 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11514 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11515 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11516 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11522 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11526 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11530 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11531 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11532 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11533 predicate are considered.
11537 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11541 An example directory mail source:
11544 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11549 Get mail from a POP server.
11555 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11556 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11559 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11560 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11561 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11562 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11563 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11566 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11570 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11574 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11575 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11578 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11581 The valid format specifier characters are:
11585 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11586 included in this string.
11589 The name of the server.
11592 The port number of the server.
11595 The user name to use.
11598 The password to use.
11601 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11602 corresponding keywords.
11605 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11606 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11609 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11610 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11613 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11614 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11617 @item :authentication
11618 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11619 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11624 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11625 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11627 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11628 default user name, and default fetcher:
11634 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11637 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11638 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11641 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11644 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11648 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11649 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11650 contains exactly one mail.
11656 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11657 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11660 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11661 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11663 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11664 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11665 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11668 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11669 from locking problems).
11673 Two example maildir mail sources:
11676 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
11677 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11681 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
11686 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
11687 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
11688 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
11689 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
11696 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11697 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11700 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11701 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11704 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11708 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11712 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11713 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11714 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11716 @item :authentication
11717 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11718 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11719 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11723 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
11724 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
11725 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
11731 The valid format specifier characters are:
11735 The name of the server.
11738 User name from `imap-default-user'.
11741 The port number of the server.
11744 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11745 corresponding keywords.
11748 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11749 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11752 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11753 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11754 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11755 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11756 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11757 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11760 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11761 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11762 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11763 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11766 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11767 after finishing the fetch.
11771 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11774 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
11776 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11780 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11781 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11783 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11786 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11787 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11789 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11795 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11796 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11799 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11803 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11807 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11808 folder after finishing the fetch.
11812 An example webmail source:
11815 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
11817 :password "secret")
11822 @item Common Keywords
11823 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11829 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11830 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11834 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11839 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11840 useful when you use local mail and news.
11845 @subsubsection Function Interface
11847 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11848 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11849 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11850 consider the following mail-source setting:
11853 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11854 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11857 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11858 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11859 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11860 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11861 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11863 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11866 @node Mail Source Customization
11867 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11869 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11870 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11874 @item mail-source-crash-box
11875 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11876 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11877 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11879 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11880 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11881 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11883 @item mail-source-directory
11884 @vindex mail-source-directory
11885 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11886 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11887 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11890 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11891 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11892 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11893 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11894 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11895 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11897 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11898 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11899 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11904 @node Fetching Mail
11905 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11907 @vindex mail-sources
11908 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11909 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11910 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11911 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11913 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11914 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11917 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11918 mail server, you'd say something like:
11923 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11924 :password "secret")))
11927 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11931 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11932 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11935 :password "secret")))
11939 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11940 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11941 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11942 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11943 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11944 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11948 @node Mail Backend Variables
11949 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11951 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11955 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11956 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11957 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11958 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11960 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11961 @item nnmail-split-hook
11962 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11963 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11964 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11965 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11966 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11967 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11968 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11969 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11970 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11973 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11974 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11975 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11976 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11977 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11978 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11979 starting to handle the new mail) and
11980 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11981 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11982 default file modes the new mail files get:
11985 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11986 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11988 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11989 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11992 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11993 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11994 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11995 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11996 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11997 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11998 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12000 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12001 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12002 @findex delete-file
12003 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12005 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12006 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12007 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12008 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12009 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12014 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12015 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12016 @cindex mail splitting
12017 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12019 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12020 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12021 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12022 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12023 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12024 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12026 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12029 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12030 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12031 ;; from real errors.
12032 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12034 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12035 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12036 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12037 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12038 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12039 ;; Other mailing lists...
12040 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12041 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12042 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12043 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12044 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12045 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12046 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12047 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12049 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12050 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12054 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12055 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12056 the five possible split syntaxes:
12061 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12062 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12066 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12067 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12068 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12069 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12070 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12071 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12072 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12073 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12076 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12077 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12078 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12079 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12082 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12083 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12086 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12087 this message. Use with extreme caution.
12090 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12091 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12092 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12093 function should return a @var{split}.
12096 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12097 body of the messages:
12100 (defun split-on-body ()
12102 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12103 (goto-char (point-min))
12104 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12108 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12109 when the @code{:} function is run.
12112 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12113 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12114 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12118 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12122 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12123 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12124 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12125 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12126 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12128 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12129 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12130 are expanded as specified by the variable
12131 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12132 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12135 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12136 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12137 when all this splitting is performed.
12139 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12140 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12141 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12144 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12147 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12148 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12150 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12151 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12152 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12153 groupings 1 through 9.
12155 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12156 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12157 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12158 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12159 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12160 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12161 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12162 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12163 it once per thread.
12165 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
12166 non-nil value. And then you can include
12167 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
12169 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12170 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12171 ;; other splits go here
12175 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12176 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12177 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12178 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12179 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12180 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12181 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12182 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12183 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name. It
12184 is recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
12185 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
12186 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300
12188 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12189 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12190 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12191 messages goes into the new group.
12194 @node Group Mail Splitting
12195 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12196 @cindex mail splitting
12197 @cindex group mail splitting
12199 @findex gnus-group-split
12200 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12201 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12202 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12203 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12204 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12205 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12206 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12207 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12209 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12210 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12211 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12212 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12214 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12215 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12216 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12217 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12218 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12219 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12220 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12222 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12223 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12224 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12225 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12226 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12227 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12228 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12230 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12231 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12232 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12233 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12234 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12235 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12236 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12237 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12238 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12239 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12240 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12241 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12242 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12244 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12249 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12250 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12252 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12253 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12254 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12255 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12257 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12260 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12261 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12262 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12265 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12266 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12267 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12271 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12272 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12273 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12277 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12280 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12281 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12282 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12283 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12284 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12285 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12286 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12287 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12288 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12290 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12291 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12292 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12293 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12294 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12295 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12296 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12297 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12298 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12300 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12301 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12302 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12303 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12304 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12305 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12308 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12311 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12312 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12313 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12314 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12315 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12318 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12319 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12320 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12321 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12323 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12324 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12326 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12327 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12328 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12331 Doing so can be quite easy.
12333 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12334 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12335 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12336 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12337 your @code{nnml} groups.
12343 Go to the group buffer.
12346 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12347 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12350 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12353 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12354 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12357 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12358 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12361 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12362 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12363 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12364 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12365 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12367 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12368 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12369 using the new mail backend.
12372 @node Expiring Mail
12373 @subsection Expiring Mail
12374 @cindex article expiry
12376 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12377 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12378 different approach to mail reading.
12380 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12381 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12382 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12383 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12384 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12385 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12388 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12389 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12390 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12391 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12392 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12393 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12394 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12395 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12397 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12398 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12399 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12400 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12401 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12402 column in the summary buffer.
12404 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12405 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12406 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12407 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12410 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12412 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12413 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12414 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12417 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12418 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12419 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12420 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12421 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12423 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12424 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12427 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12428 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12431 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12432 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12434 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12435 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12436 don't really mix very well.
12438 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12439 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12440 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12441 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12444 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12445 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12446 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12447 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12450 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12452 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12454 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12456 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12458 ((string= group "important")
12464 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12465 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12467 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12468 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12469 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12472 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12473 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12475 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12476 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12477 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12478 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12479 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12480 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12481 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12482 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12483 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12484 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12485 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12486 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12489 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12491 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12495 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12496 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12497 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12498 easier for procmail users.
12500 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12501 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12502 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12503 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12504 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12505 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12506 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12507 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12508 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12509 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12510 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12511 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12512 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12515 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12517 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12518 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12519 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12520 auto-expire turned on.
12524 @subsection Washing Mail
12525 @cindex mail washing
12526 @cindex list server brain damage
12527 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12529 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12530 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12531 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12532 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12533 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12534 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12536 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12537 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12538 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12541 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12542 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12543 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12544 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12547 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12548 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12549 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12550 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12551 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12554 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12555 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12556 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12557 Emacs running on MS machines.
12561 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12562 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12563 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12564 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12567 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12568 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12569 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12570 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12572 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12573 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12574 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12575 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12576 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12577 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12578 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12581 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12582 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12585 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12586 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12589 This can also be done non-destructively with
12590 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12592 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12593 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12594 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12596 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12597 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12599 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12600 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12601 @code{References} headers.
12605 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12606 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12607 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12611 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12612 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12613 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12620 @subsection Duplicates
12622 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12623 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12624 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12625 @cindex duplicate mails
12626 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12627 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12628 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12629 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12630 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12631 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12632 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12633 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12634 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12635 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12636 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12637 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12638 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12640 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12641 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12642 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12643 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12645 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12648 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12649 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12653 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12654 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12655 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
12656 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12657 (any mail "mail.misc")
12664 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12665 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12670 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12671 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12672 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12673 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12674 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12677 @node Not Reading Mail
12678 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12680 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12681 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12682 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12684 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12685 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12686 mail, which should help.
12688 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12689 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12690 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12691 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12692 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12693 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12694 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12695 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12696 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12697 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12698 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12700 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12701 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12705 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12706 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12708 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12709 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12710 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12712 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12713 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12714 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12715 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12718 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12719 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12720 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12721 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12722 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12723 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12727 @node Unix Mail Box
12728 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12730 @cindex unix mail box
12732 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12733 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12734 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12735 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12736 which group it belongs in.
12738 Virtual server settings:
12741 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12742 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12743 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
12746 @item nnmbox-active-file
12747 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12748 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
12749 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
12751 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12752 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12753 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12754 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
12759 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12763 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12764 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12765 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12766 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12767 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12769 Virtual server settings:
12772 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12773 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12774 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
12776 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12777 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12778 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
12779 @file{~/.rmail-active}
12781 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12782 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12783 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
12789 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12791 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12793 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12794 format. It should be used with some caution.
12796 @vindex nnml-directory
12797 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12798 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12799 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12800 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12802 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12805 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12806 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12807 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12808 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12809 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12810 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12811 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12812 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12814 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12815 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12816 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12817 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12819 Virtual server settings:
12822 @item nnml-directory
12823 @vindex nnml-directory
12824 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12825 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
12828 @item nnml-active-file
12829 @vindex nnml-active-file
12830 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
12831 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
12833 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12834 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12835 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12836 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
12838 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12839 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12840 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
12843 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12844 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12845 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
12846 default is @code{nil}
12848 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12849 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12850 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12852 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12853 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12854 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12858 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12859 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12860 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12861 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12862 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12863 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12864 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12869 @subsubsection MH Spool
12871 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12873 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12874 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12875 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12876 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12878 Virtual server settings:
12881 @item nnmh-directory
12882 @vindex nnmh-directory
12883 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
12884 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
12887 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12888 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12889 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
12893 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12894 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12895 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12896 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12897 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12898 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12899 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
12904 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12906 @cindex mbox folders
12907 @cindex mail folders
12909 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12910 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12911 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12914 Virtual server settings:
12917 @item nnfolder-directory
12918 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12919 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12920 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
12923 @item nnfolder-active-file
12924 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12925 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
12927 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12928 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12929 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12930 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
12932 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12933 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12934 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
12937 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12938 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12939 @cindex backup files
12940 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12941 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12942 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12943 your @file{.emacs} file:
12946 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12947 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12949 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12952 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12953 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12954 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12955 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12956 extract some information from it before removing it.
12958 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12959 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12960 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
12961 default is @code{nil}.
12966 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12967 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12968 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12969 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12970 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12971 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12974 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12975 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12977 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12978 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12979 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12980 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12981 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12983 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12984 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12985 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12986 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12987 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12988 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12989 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12990 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12993 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12994 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12995 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12996 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13001 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13002 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13003 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13004 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13005 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13006 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13007 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13008 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13009 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13010 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13011 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13012 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13013 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13018 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13019 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13020 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13021 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13022 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13023 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13024 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13025 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13026 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13027 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13028 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13029 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13030 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13031 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13033 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13034 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13039 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
13040 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13041 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13042 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13043 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13044 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13045 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13046 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13047 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13048 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13049 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13050 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13051 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13052 provided by the active file and overviews.
13054 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13055 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13056 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13057 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13058 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13061 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
13062 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13067 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13068 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13069 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13070 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13071 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13072 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13073 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13077 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13078 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13079 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13080 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13081 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13082 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13083 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13084 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13085 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13087 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13088 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13089 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13090 friendly mail backend all over.
13095 @node Browsing the Web
13096 @section Browsing the Web
13098 @cindex browsing the web
13102 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13103 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13104 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13105 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13106 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13107 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13108 even know what a news group is.
13110 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13111 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13112 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13113 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13114 you mad in the end.
13116 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13119 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
13120 interfaces to these sources.
13123 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13124 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13125 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13126 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13127 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13128 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13131 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13133 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13134 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13135 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
13136 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
13137 though, you should be ok.
13139 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13140 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13141 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13142 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13143 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13147 @subsection Web Searches
13151 @cindex InReference
13152 @cindex Usenet searches
13153 @cindex searching the Usenet
13155 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13156 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13157 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13158 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13159 searches without having to use a browser.
13161 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13162 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13163 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13164 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13165 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13167 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13168 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13169 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13170 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13171 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13172 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13173 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13174 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13175 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13176 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13179 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13180 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13181 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13182 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13183 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13184 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13186 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13187 to use @code{nnweb}.
13189 Virtual server variables:
13194 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13195 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13199 @vindex nnweb-search
13200 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13202 @item nnweb-max-hits
13203 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13204 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13207 @item nnweb-type-definition
13208 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13209 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13210 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13215 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13219 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13222 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13225 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13229 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13236 @subsection Slashdot
13240 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13241 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13242 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13244 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13245 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13248 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13249 '((nnslashdot "")))
13252 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
13253 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13254 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13255 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13256 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13259 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13260 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13262 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13263 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13264 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13265 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13266 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13267 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13270 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13273 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13274 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13275 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13276 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13277 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13278 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13279 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13281 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13282 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13283 The login name to use when posting.
13285 @item nnslashdot-password
13286 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13287 The password to use when posting.
13289 @item nnslashdot-directory
13290 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13291 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13292 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13294 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13295 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13296 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13297 news articles and comments. The default is
13298 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13300 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13301 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13302 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13304 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13306 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13307 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13308 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13310 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13312 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13313 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13314 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13316 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13317 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13318 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13319 updated. The default is 0.
13326 @subsection Ultimate
13328 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13330 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13331 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13332 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13333 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13335 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13336 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13337 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13338 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13339 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13340 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13341 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13343 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13346 @item nnultimate-directory
13347 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13348 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13349 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13354 @subsection Web Archive
13356 @cindex Web Archive
13358 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13359 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13360 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13361 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13364 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13365 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13366 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13367 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13368 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13369 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13370 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13372 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13375 @item nnwarchive-directory
13376 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13377 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13378 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13380 @item nnwarchive-login
13381 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13382 The account name on the web server.
13384 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13385 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13386 The password for your account on the web server.
13394 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13395 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13396 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13399 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13400 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13403 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13406 @item nnrss-directory
13407 @vindex nnrss-directory
13408 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13409 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13413 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13414 the summary buffer.
13417 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13418 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13420 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13422 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13423 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13426 @node Customizing w3
13427 @subsection Customizing w3
13433 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13434 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13435 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13437 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13438 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13439 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13442 (eval-after-load "w3"
13444 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13445 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13446 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13447 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13449 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13452 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13453 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13457 @node Other Sources
13458 @section Other Sources
13460 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
13461 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
13465 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
13466 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
13467 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
13468 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
13469 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
13470 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
13474 @node Directory Groups
13475 @subsection Directory Groups
13477 @cindex directory groups
13479 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13480 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13483 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13484 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13485 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13486 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13488 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13489 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13490 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13491 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13492 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13494 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13496 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13497 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13498 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13499 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13502 @node Anything Groups
13503 @subsection Anything Groups
13506 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13507 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13508 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13511 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13512 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13513 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13514 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13515 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13516 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13517 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13518 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13519 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13520 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13523 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13524 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13525 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13526 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13528 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13529 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13530 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13531 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13533 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13534 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13535 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13536 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13537 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13538 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13539 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13540 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13545 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13546 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13547 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13548 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13550 @item nneething-exclude-files
13551 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13552 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13553 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13555 @item nneething-include-files
13556 @vindex nneething-include-files
13557 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13558 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13560 @item nneething-map-file
13561 @vindex nneething-map-file
13562 Name of the map files.
13566 @node Document Groups
13567 @subsection Document Groups
13569 @cindex documentation group
13572 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13573 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13580 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13585 The standard Unix mbox file.
13587 @cindex MMDF mail box
13589 The MMDF mail box format.
13592 Several news articles appended into a file.
13595 @cindex rnews batch files
13596 The rnews batch transport format.
13597 @cindex forwarded messages
13600 Forwarded articles.
13603 Netscape mail boxes.
13606 MIME multipart messages.
13608 @item standard-digest
13609 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13612 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13615 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13616 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13617 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13620 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13621 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13622 group. And that's it.
13624 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13625 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13626 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13627 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13628 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13629 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13630 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13631 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13632 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13633 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13635 Virtual server variables:
13638 @item nndoc-article-type
13639 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13640 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13641 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13642 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13643 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13645 @item nndoc-post-type
13646 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13647 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13648 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13653 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13657 @node Document Server Internals
13658 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13660 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13661 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13662 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13663 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13665 First, here's an example document type definition:
13669 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13670 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13673 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13674 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13675 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13676 types can be defined with very few settings:
13679 @item first-article
13680 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13681 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13684 @item article-begin
13685 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13686 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13688 @item head-begin-function
13689 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13692 @item nndoc-head-begin
13693 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13696 @item nndoc-head-end
13697 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13698 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13700 @item body-begin-function
13701 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13705 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13708 @item body-end-function
13709 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13713 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13716 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13717 regexp will be totally ignored.
13721 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13722 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13723 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13724 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13725 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13728 @item prepare-body-function
13729 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13730 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13731 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13733 @item article-transform-function
13734 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13735 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13736 body of the article.
13738 @item generate-head-function
13739 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13740 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13741 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13742 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13746 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13751 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13752 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13753 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13754 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13755 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13756 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13757 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13758 (subtype digest guess))
13761 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13762 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13763 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13764 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13765 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13767 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13768 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13769 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13770 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13771 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
13772 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13773 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13774 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13775 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13776 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13784 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13785 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13786 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13788 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13789 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13790 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13793 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13794 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13795 that interested in doing things properly.
13797 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13798 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13801 First some terminology:
13806 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13807 get news and/or mail from.
13810 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13811 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13814 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13818 @item message packets
13819 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13820 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13821 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13823 @item response packets
13824 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13825 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13826 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13836 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13837 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13838 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13839 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13842 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13845 You put the packet in your home directory.
13848 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13849 the native or secondary server.
13852 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13853 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13856 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13860 You transfer this packet to the server.
13863 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13866 You then repeat until you die.
13870 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13871 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13874 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13875 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13876 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13880 @node SOUP Commands
13881 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13883 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13887 @kindex G s b (Group)
13888 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13889 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13890 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13891 process/prefix convention.
13894 @kindex G s w (Group)
13895 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13896 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13899 @kindex G s s (Group)
13900 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13901 Send all replies from the replies packet
13902 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13905 @kindex G s p (Group)
13906 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13907 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13910 @kindex G s r (Group)
13911 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13912 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13915 @kindex O s (Summary)
13916 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13917 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13918 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13919 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13924 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13929 @item gnus-soup-directory
13930 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13931 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13932 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13934 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13935 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13936 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13937 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13939 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13940 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13941 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13942 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13944 @item gnus-soup-packer
13945 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13946 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13947 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13949 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13950 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13951 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13952 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13954 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13955 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13956 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13958 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13959 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13960 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13961 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13967 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13970 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13971 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13972 you can read them at leisure.
13974 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13978 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13979 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13980 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13981 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13983 @item nnsoup-directory
13984 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13985 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13986 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13988 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13989 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13990 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13991 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13993 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13994 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13995 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13996 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13997 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13999 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
14000 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
14001 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
14002 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
14004 @item nnsoup-active-file
14005 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
14006 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
14007 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
14008 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
14009 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
14011 @item nnsoup-packer
14012 @vindex nnsoup-packer
14013 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
14014 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
14016 @item nnsoup-unpacker
14017 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
14018 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
14019 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14021 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
14022 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
14023 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
14026 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
14027 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
14028 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
14031 @item nnsoup-always-save
14032 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
14033 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
14039 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
14041 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
14042 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
14043 more for that to happen.
14045 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
14046 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
14047 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
14050 In specific, this is what it does:
14053 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
14054 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
14057 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
14058 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
14059 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
14062 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
14063 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
14064 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
14067 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
14068 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
14069 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
14071 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
14077 @item nngateway-address
14078 @vindex nngateway-address
14079 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
14081 @item nngateway-header-transformation
14082 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
14083 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
14084 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
14085 transformation should be called, and defaults to
14086 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
14087 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
14090 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
14091 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
14092 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
14095 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
14098 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
14101 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
14104 The following pre-defined functions exist:
14106 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
14109 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
14110 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
14111 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
14113 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
14115 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
14116 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
14117 @code{nngateway-address}.
14122 (setq gnus-post-method
14124 "mail2news@@replay.com"
14125 (nngateway-header-transformation
14126 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
14134 So, to use this, simply say something like:
14137 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
14143 @subsection @sc{imap}
14147 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14148 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14149 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14150 specify the network address of the server.
14152 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14153 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14154 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14155 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
14156 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
14158 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
14159 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
14160 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
14161 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
14163 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14164 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
14165 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14166 usage explained in this section.
14168 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14169 might look something like this:
14172 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14173 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14174 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14176 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14177 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14178 ; a UW server running on localhost
14180 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14181 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14182 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14183 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14184 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14185 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14186 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14187 (nnimap-stream network))
14188 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14190 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14191 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14192 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14195 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14200 @item nnimap-address
14201 @vindex nnimap-address
14203 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14204 server name if not specified.
14206 @item nnimap-server-port
14207 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14208 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14210 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
14213 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14214 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14217 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14218 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14219 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14220 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14221 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14222 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14223 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14225 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14226 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14227 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14230 Example server specification:
14233 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14234 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14235 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14238 @item nnimap-stream
14239 @vindex nnimap-stream
14240 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14241 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14242 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14243 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14245 Example server specification:
14248 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14249 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14252 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14256 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14257 @samp{imtest} program.
14259 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14261 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14262 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14265 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14266 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14268 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14270 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14273 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14274 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14275 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14276 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14277 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14278 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14279 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14280 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14281 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14284 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14285 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14286 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14287 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14288 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14289 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14290 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14293 @vindex imap-shell-program
14294 @vindex imap-shell-host
14295 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14296 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14298 @item nnimap-authenticator
14299 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14301 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14302 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14304 Example server specification:
14307 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14308 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14311 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14315 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14316 external program @code{imtest}.
14318 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14321 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14322 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14324 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14326 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14328 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14331 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14333 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14334 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14335 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14336 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14337 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14338 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14341 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14342 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14343 running in circles yet?
14345 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14346 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14349 The possible options are:
14354 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14357 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14358 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14359 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14360 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14362 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14367 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14369 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14371 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14372 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14373 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14374 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14376 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14377 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14378 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14379 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14381 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14382 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14384 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14385 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14386 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14392 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14393 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14394 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14399 @node Splitting in IMAP
14400 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14401 @cindex splitting imap mail
14403 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14404 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14405 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14406 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14407 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14411 Here are the variables of interest:
14415 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14416 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14418 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14420 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14421 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14423 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14425 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14426 @cindex splitting, inbox
14428 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14430 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14431 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14435 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14436 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14439 No nnmail equivalent.
14441 @item nnimap-split-rule
14442 @cindex Splitting, rules
14443 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14445 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14448 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14449 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14450 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14451 Neither did I, we need examples.
14454 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14456 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14457 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14458 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14461 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14462 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14463 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14465 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14466 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14470 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14473 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14474 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14475 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14476 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14478 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14479 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14480 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14481 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14482 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14483 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14485 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14486 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14487 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14489 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14490 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14491 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14493 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14495 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14496 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14497 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14500 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14501 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14502 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14503 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14504 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14505 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14508 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14509 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14510 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14511 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14512 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14513 group/function elements.
14515 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14517 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14519 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14521 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14522 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14524 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14525 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14526 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14529 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14530 @cindex splitting, fancy
14531 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14532 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14534 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14535 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14536 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14538 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14539 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14540 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14541 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14546 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14547 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14550 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14554 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14555 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14556 @cindex editing imap acls
14557 @cindex Access Control Lists
14558 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14560 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14562 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14563 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14564 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14567 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14568 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14569 editing window with detailed instructions.
14571 Some possible uses:
14575 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14576 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14577 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14579 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14580 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14581 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14585 @node Expunging mailboxes
14586 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14590 @cindex Manual expunging
14592 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14594 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14595 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14596 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14598 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14603 @node Combined Groups
14604 @section Combined Groups
14606 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14610 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14611 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14615 @node Virtual Groups
14616 @subsection Virtual Groups
14618 @cindex virtual groups
14619 @cindex merging groups
14621 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14624 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14625 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14626 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14628 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14629 regexp to match component groups.
14631 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14632 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14633 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14634 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14635 the virtual group.)
14637 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14638 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14641 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14644 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14645 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14647 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14648 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14649 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14650 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14653 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14656 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14657 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14658 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14660 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14661 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14662 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14663 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14664 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14666 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14667 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14668 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14670 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14671 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14672 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14673 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14674 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14675 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14676 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14677 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14678 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14679 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14680 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14682 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14683 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14684 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14685 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14686 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14687 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14688 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14690 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14691 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14695 @node Kibozed Groups
14696 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14700 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14701 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14702 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14703 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14705 @kindex G k (Group)
14706 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14709 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14710 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14711 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14712 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14714 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14715 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14716 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14718 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14719 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14720 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14721 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14722 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14723 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14724 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14725 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14727 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14728 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14729 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14730 Stranger things have happened.
14732 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14733 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14735 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14736 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14737 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14738 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14739 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14740 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14742 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14743 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14746 @node Gnus Unplugged
14747 @section Gnus Unplugged
14752 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14754 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14755 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14756 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14757 read news. Believe it or not.
14759 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14760 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14761 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14762 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14763 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14765 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14766 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14767 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14768 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14769 reading news on a machine.
14771 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14775 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14776 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14780 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14781 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14788 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14790 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14793 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14794 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14795 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14796 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14797 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14798 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14799 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14800 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14801 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14802 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14807 @subsection Agent Basics
14809 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14811 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14812 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14813 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14814 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14816 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14817 connected to the net continuously.
14819 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14820 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14822 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14827 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14828 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14829 already fetched while in this mode.
14832 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14833 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14834 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14835 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14836 Source Specifiers}).
14839 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14840 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14841 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14842 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14843 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14846 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14847 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14848 then you read the news offline.
14851 And then you go to step 2.
14854 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14860 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14861 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14862 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14863 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14864 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14865 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14868 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14875 @node Agent Categories
14876 @subsection Agent Categories
14878 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14879 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14880 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14881 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14882 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14883 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14884 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14886 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14887 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14888 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14889 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14890 managing categories.
14893 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14894 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14895 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14899 @node Category Syntax
14900 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14902 A category consists of two things.
14906 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14907 are eligible for downloading; and
14910 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14911 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14912 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14915 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14916 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14917 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14918 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14920 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14921 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14922 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
14924 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14925 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14926 operators sprinkled in between.
14928 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14930 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14931 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14937 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14938 short (for some value of ``short'').
14940 Here's a more complex predicate:
14949 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14950 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14953 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14954 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14955 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14957 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14958 you want to do, you can write your own.
14962 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14963 lines; default 100.
14966 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14967 lines; default 200.
14970 True iff the article has a download score less than
14971 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14974 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14975 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14978 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14979 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14980 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14989 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14990 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14991 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14994 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14995 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14996 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14997 something along the lines of the following:
15000 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15001 "Say whether an article is old."
15002 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15003 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15006 with the predicate then defined as:
15009 (not my-article-old-p)
15012 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15013 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15014 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15015 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15018 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15019 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15020 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15023 and simply specify your predicate as:
15029 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15030 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15031 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15032 just don't give a damn.
15034 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15035 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15036 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15037 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15038 parameters like so:
15041 (agent-predicate . short)
15044 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15045 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15046 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15048 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15051 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15054 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15055 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15056 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15059 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15060 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15061 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15062 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15063 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15064 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15066 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15067 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15068 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15069 if it's to be specific to that group.
15071 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15078 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15079 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15085 Category specification
15089 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15095 Group Parameter specification
15098 (agent-score ("from"
15099 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15104 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15110 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15117 Category specification
15120 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15126 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15130 Group Parameter specification
15133 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15136 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15141 Use @code{normal} score files
15143 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15144 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15145 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15146 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15148 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15149 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15150 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15151 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15155 Category Specification
15162 Group Parameter specification
15165 (agent-score . file)
15170 @node Category Buffer
15171 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15173 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15174 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15175 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15177 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15181 @kindex q (Category)
15182 @findex gnus-category-exit
15183 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15186 @kindex k (Category)
15187 @findex gnus-category-kill
15188 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15191 @kindex c (Category)
15192 @findex gnus-category-copy
15193 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15196 @kindex a (Category)
15197 @findex gnus-category-add
15198 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15201 @kindex p (Category)
15202 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15203 Edit the predicate of the current category
15204 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15207 @kindex g (Category)
15208 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15209 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15210 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15213 @kindex s (Category)
15214 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15215 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15216 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15219 @kindex l (Category)
15220 @findex gnus-category-list
15221 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15225 @node Category Variables
15226 @subsubsection Category Variables
15229 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15230 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15231 Hook run in category buffers.
15233 @item gnus-category-line-format
15234 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15235 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15236 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15240 The name of the category.
15243 The number of groups in the category.
15246 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15247 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15248 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15250 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15251 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15252 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15254 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15255 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15256 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15258 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15259 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15260 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15263 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15264 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15265 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15271 @node Agent Commands
15272 @subsection Agent Commands
15274 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15275 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
15276 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15280 * Group Agent Commands::
15281 * Summary Agent Commands::
15282 * Server Agent Commands::
15285 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15286 following incantation:
15288 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15290 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15295 @node Group Agent Commands
15296 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15300 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15301 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15302 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15303 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15306 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15307 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15308 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15311 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15312 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15313 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15314 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15317 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15318 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15319 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15320 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15323 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15324 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15325 Add the current group to an Agent category
15326 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15327 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15330 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15331 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15332 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15333 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15334 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15337 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15338 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15339 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15345 @node Summary Agent Commands
15346 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15350 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15351 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15352 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15355 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15356 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15357 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15358 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15361 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15362 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15363 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15366 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15367 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15368 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15373 @node Server Agent Commands
15374 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15378 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15379 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15380 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15381 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15384 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15385 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15386 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15387 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15393 @subsection Agent Expiry
15395 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15396 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15397 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15398 @cindex Agent expiry
15399 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15402 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15403 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15404 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15405 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15406 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15407 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15409 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15410 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15411 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15412 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15413 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15416 @node Agent and IMAP
15417 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15419 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However,
15420 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15421 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15422 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15424 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15425 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15426 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15427 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15429 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15430 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15431 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15432 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15433 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15435 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15436 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15437 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15438 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15439 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15440 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15442 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15443 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15444 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15445 in the group buffer by default.
15447 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15448 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15453 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15456 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15460 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15461 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15462 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15463 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15464 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15465 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15466 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15467 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15470 @node Outgoing Messages
15471 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15473 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15474 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15475 after posting, and edit them at will.
15477 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15478 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15479 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15480 messages in the draft group.
15484 @node Agent Variables
15485 @subsection Agent Variables
15488 @item gnus-agent-directory
15489 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15490 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15491 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15493 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15494 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15495 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15496 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15497 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15500 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15501 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15502 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15504 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15505 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15506 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15511 @node Example Setup
15512 @subsection Example Setup
15514 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15515 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15516 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15519 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15520 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15521 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15523 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15524 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15525 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15527 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15528 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15530 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15534 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15535 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15538 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15539 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15540 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15541 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15542 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15545 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15546 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15547 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15548 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15549 back all the killed groups.)
15551 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15552 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15553 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15556 @node Batching Agents
15557 @subsection Batching Agents
15559 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15560 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15561 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15565 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15569 @node Agent Caveats
15570 @subsection Agent Caveats
15572 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15573 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15577 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15582 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15583 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15589 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15590 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15597 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15598 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15599 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15602 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15603 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15604 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15605 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15606 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15608 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15609 before generating the summary buffer.
15611 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15612 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15613 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15615 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15616 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15617 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15618 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15621 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15622 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15623 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15624 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15625 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15626 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15627 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15628 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15629 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15630 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15631 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15632 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15633 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15634 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15635 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15636 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15640 @node Summary Score Commands
15641 @section Summary Score Commands
15642 @cindex score commands
15644 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15645 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15646 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15647 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15648 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15650 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15651 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15652 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15653 score file the current one.
15655 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15660 @kindex V s (Summary)
15661 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15662 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15665 @kindex V S (Summary)
15666 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15667 Display the score of the current article
15668 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15671 @kindex V t (Summary)
15672 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15673 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15674 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15677 @kindex V R (Summary)
15678 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15679 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15680 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15681 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15682 effect you're having.
15685 @kindex V c (Summary)
15686 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15687 Make a different score file the current
15688 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15691 @kindex V e (Summary)
15692 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15693 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15694 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15698 @kindex V f (Summary)
15699 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15700 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15701 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15704 @kindex V F (Summary)
15705 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15706 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15707 after editing score files.
15710 @kindex V C (Summary)
15711 @findex gnus-score-customize
15712 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15713 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15717 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15722 @kindex V m (Summary)
15723 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15724 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15725 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15728 @kindex V x (Summary)
15729 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15730 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15731 expunge all articles below this score
15732 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15735 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15736 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15739 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15740 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15744 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15745 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15747 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15748 keys are available:
15752 Score on the author name.
15755 Score on the subject line.
15758 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15761 Score on the @code{References} line.
15767 Score on the number of lines.
15770 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15773 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15774 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
15775 @file{ADAPT} files.)
15784 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
15790 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15791 what headers you are scoring on.
15803 Substring matching.
15806 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15835 Greater than number.
15840 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15841 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15842 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15846 Temporary score entry.
15849 Permanent score entry.
15852 Immediately scoring.
15857 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15858 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15859 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15860 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15862 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15863 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15864 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15865 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15866 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15868 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15869 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15870 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15871 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15872 current score file.
15874 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15875 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15876 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15879 @node Group Score Commands
15880 @section Group Score Commands
15881 @cindex group score commands
15883 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15888 @kindex W f (Group)
15889 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15890 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15891 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15892 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15896 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15898 @findex gnus-batch-score
15899 @cindex batch scoring
15901 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15905 @node Score Variables
15906 @section Score Variables
15907 @cindex score variables
15911 @item gnus-use-scoring
15912 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15913 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15914 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15916 @item gnus-kill-killed
15917 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15918 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15919 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15920 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15921 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15922 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15923 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15925 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15926 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15927 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15928 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15929 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15931 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15932 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15933 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15934 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15936 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15937 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15938 @cindex score cache
15939 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15940 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15941 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
15942 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15943 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15944 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15947 @item gnus-save-score
15948 @vindex gnus-save-score
15949 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15950 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15951 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15953 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15954 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15955 across group visits.
15957 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15958 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15959 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15960 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15961 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15962 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15963 manually entered data.
15965 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15966 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15967 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15969 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15970 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15971 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15972 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15973 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15974 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15976 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15977 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15978 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15979 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15981 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15982 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15983 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15984 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15986 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15987 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15988 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15989 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15991 Predefined functions available are:
15994 @item gnus-score-find-single
15995 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15996 Only apply the group's own score file.
15998 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15999 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16000 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16001 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16002 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16003 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16004 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16005 then a regexp match is done.
16007 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16008 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16010 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16011 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16012 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16013 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16015 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16016 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16017 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16018 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16019 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16023 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
16024 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
16025 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
16026 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
16027 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
16028 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
16029 returned is the local score file. Phu.
16031 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16032 overall score file, you could use the value
16034 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16035 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16038 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16039 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16040 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16041 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16042 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16044 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16045 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16046 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16047 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16048 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16049 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16050 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16053 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16054 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16055 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16057 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16058 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16059 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16060 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16061 threading---according to the current value of
16062 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16063 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16064 simplified in this manner.
16069 @node Score File Format
16070 @section Score File Format
16071 @cindex score file format
16073 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16074 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16075 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16077 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16081 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16083 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16085 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16087 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16092 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16096 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16097 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16098 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16099 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16103 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16104 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16106 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16107 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16108 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16110 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16115 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16116 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16117 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16118 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16119 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16120 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16121 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16122 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16123 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16124 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16125 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16126 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16127 to articles that matches these score entries.
16129 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16130 score entry has one to four elements.
16134 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16135 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16139 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16140 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16141 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16142 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16143 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16144 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16147 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16148 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16149 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16150 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16151 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16154 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16155 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16156 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16157 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16160 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16161 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16162 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16163 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16164 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16165 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16166 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16167 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16168 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16169 instead, if you feel like.
16172 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16173 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16175 These predicates are true if
16178 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16181 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16182 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16189 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16190 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16191 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16192 it's not. I think.)
16194 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
16195 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16196 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16197 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16200 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16201 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16202 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16203 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16204 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16205 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16206 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16210 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16211 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16212 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16213 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16214 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16215 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16216 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16217 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16220 @item Head, Body, All
16221 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16225 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16226 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16227 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16228 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16229 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16230 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16231 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16235 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16236 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16237 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16238 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16239 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16240 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16241 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16242 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16243 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16244 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16245 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16249 @cindex Score File Atoms
16251 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16252 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16255 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16256 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16258 @item mark-and-expunge
16259 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16260 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16263 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16264 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16265 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16266 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16267 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16270 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16271 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16274 @item exclude-files
16275 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16276 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16280 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16281 ignored when handling global score files.
16284 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16285 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16286 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16287 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16290 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16291 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16292 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16293 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16295 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16299 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16302 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16303 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16304 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16305 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16306 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16308 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16309 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16310 scoring rules exist.
16313 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16314 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16315 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16316 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16317 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16318 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16319 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16320 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16321 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16322 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16323 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16327 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16328 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16329 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16330 file for a number of groups.
16333 @cindex local variables
16334 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16335 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16336 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16337 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16338 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16342 @node Score File Editing
16343 @section Score File Editing
16345 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16346 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16347 with a mode for that.
16349 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16350 additional commands:
16355 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16356 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16357 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16358 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16361 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16362 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16363 Insert the current date in numerical format
16364 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16365 you were wondering.
16368 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16369 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16370 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16371 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16372 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16377 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16379 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16380 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16382 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16383 e} to begin editing score files.
16386 @node Adaptive Scoring
16387 @section Adaptive Scoring
16388 @cindex adaptive scoring
16390 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16391 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16392 stupidity, to be precise.
16394 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16395 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16396 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16397 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16398 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16399 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16400 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16401 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16402 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16404 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16405 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16406 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16407 might look something like this:
16410 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16411 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16412 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16413 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16414 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16415 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16416 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16417 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16418 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16419 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16420 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16421 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16424 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16425 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16426 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16427 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16428 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16429 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16432 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16433 will be applied to each article.
16435 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16436 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16437 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16438 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16440 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16441 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16442 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16443 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16445 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16446 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16447 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16448 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16450 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16451 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16452 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16453 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16454 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16455 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16457 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16458 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16459 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16460 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16461 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16462 aspirins afterwards.)
16464 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16465 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16466 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16468 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16469 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16470 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16472 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16473 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16474 let you use different rules in different groups.
16476 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16477 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16478 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16481 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16482 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16483 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16484 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16485 the length of the match is less than
16486 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16487 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16490 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16491 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16492 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16493 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16494 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16497 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16498 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16499 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16500 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16501 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16504 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16505 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16506 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
16507 score with 30 points.
16509 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
16510 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16511 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16512 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16513 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16515 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
16516 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
16517 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
16518 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
16519 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
16521 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16522 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16523 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16524 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16526 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16527 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16528 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16529 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16531 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16532 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16533 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16534 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16535 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16537 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16538 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16539 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16541 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16542 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16543 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16544 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16547 @node Home Score File
16548 @section Home Score File
16550 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16551 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16552 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16553 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16555 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16556 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16557 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16559 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16560 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16565 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16569 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16570 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16574 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16578 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16579 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
16582 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16583 the home score file.
16586 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16589 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16594 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16597 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16598 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16601 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16602 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16604 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16606 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16607 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16610 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16611 Other functions include
16614 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16615 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16616 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16617 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16621 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16622 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16623 their own home score files:
16626 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16627 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16628 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16629 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16630 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16633 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16634 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16635 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16636 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16637 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16639 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16640 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16641 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16642 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16643 precedence over this variable.
16646 @node Followups To Yourself
16647 @section Followups To Yourself
16649 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16650 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16651 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16652 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16653 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16654 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16658 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16659 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16660 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16663 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16664 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16665 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16669 @vindex message-sent-hook
16670 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16671 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
16673 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
16677 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16678 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16682 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16683 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16686 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16687 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16692 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
16696 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16697 is system-dependent.
16701 @section Scoring Tips
16702 @cindex scoring tips
16708 @cindex scoring crossposts
16709 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16710 the @code{Xref} header.
16712 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16715 @item Multiple crossposts
16716 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16717 more than, say, 3 groups:
16720 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
16724 @item Matching on the body
16725 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16726 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16727 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16728 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16729 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16730 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16731 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16734 @item Marking as read
16735 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16736 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16737 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16741 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16743 @item Negated character classes
16744 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16745 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16746 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16750 @node Reverse Scoring
16751 @section Reverse Scoring
16752 @cindex reverse scoring
16754 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16755 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16756 like this in your score file:
16760 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16765 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16766 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16769 @node Global Score Files
16770 @section Global Score Files
16771 @cindex global score files
16773 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16774 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16775 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16777 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16778 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16779 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16781 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16782 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16783 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16784 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16785 files are applicable to which group.
16787 To use the score file
16788 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16789 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
16793 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16794 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16795 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16798 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16800 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16801 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16802 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16803 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16805 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16806 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16808 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16809 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16810 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16811 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16812 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16813 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16815 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16821 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16823 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16825 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16827 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16828 lowered out of existence.
16830 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16831 articles completely.
16834 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16835 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16836 old articles for a long time.
16839 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16840 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16841 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16842 holding our breath yet?
16846 @section Kill Files
16849 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16850 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16851 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16853 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16854 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16855 files into score files.
16857 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16858 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16859 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16860 that isn't a very good idea.
16862 Normal kill files look like this:
16865 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16866 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16870 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16871 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16873 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16874 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16877 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16882 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16883 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16884 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16887 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16888 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16889 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16892 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16897 @kindex M-k (Group)
16898 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16899 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16902 @kindex M-K (Group)
16903 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16904 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16907 Kill file variables:
16910 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16911 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16912 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16913 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16914 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16915 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16916 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16918 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16919 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16920 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16921 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16924 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16925 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16926 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16927 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16928 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16929 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16930 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16931 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16932 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16934 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16935 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16936 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16941 @node Converting Kill Files
16942 @section Converting Kill Files
16944 @cindex converting kill files
16946 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16947 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16948 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16951 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16952 You can fetch it from
16953 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16955 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16956 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16957 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16965 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16966 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16967 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16969 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16970 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16971 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16972 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16973 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16974 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16975 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16976 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16980 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16981 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16982 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16983 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16987 @node Using GroupLens
16988 @subsection Using GroupLens
16990 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16992 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16993 better bit in town at the moment.
16995 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16999 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17000 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17001 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17002 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17004 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17005 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17006 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17007 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17009 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17010 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17011 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17015 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17016 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17017 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17018 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17019 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17020 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17023 @node Rating Articles
17024 @subsection Rating Articles
17026 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17027 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17028 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17029 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17032 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17037 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17038 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17039 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17042 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17043 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17044 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17045 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17046 threads in rec.humor.
17050 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17051 the score of the article you're reading.
17056 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17057 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17058 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17061 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17062 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17063 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17067 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17068 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17071 @node Displaying Predictions
17072 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17074 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17075 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17076 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17077 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17078 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17080 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17081 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17082 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17083 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17084 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17085 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17086 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17087 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17088 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17089 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17090 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17091 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17092 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17094 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17095 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17096 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17097 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17099 The following are valid values for that variable.
17102 @item prediction-spot
17103 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17106 @item confidence-interval
17107 A numeric confidence interval.
17109 @item prediction-bar
17110 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17112 @item confidence-bar
17113 Numerical confidence.
17115 @item confidence-spot
17116 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17118 @item prediction-num
17119 Plain-old numeric value.
17121 @item confidence-plus-minus
17122 Prediction +/- confidence.
17127 @node GroupLens Variables
17128 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17132 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17133 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17134 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17135 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
17138 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17139 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17142 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17143 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17145 @item grouplens-score-offset
17146 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17147 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17150 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17151 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17152 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17157 @node Advanced Scoring
17158 @section Advanced Scoring
17160 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17161 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17162 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17163 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17164 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17166 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17170 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17171 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17172 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17176 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17177 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17179 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17180 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17181 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17182 non-@code{nil} value.
17184 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17185 operator, and various match operators.
17192 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17193 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17194 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17199 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17200 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17201 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17206 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17207 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17211 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17212 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17213 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17214 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17215 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17216 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17217 the ancestry you want to go.
17219 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17220 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17221 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17222 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17223 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17226 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17227 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17229 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17230 when he's talking about Gnus:
17234 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17235 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17241 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17245 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17252 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17253 really don't want to read what he's written:
17257 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17258 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17262 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17263 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17264 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17271 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17272 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17273 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17274 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17278 The possibilities are endless.
17281 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17282 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17284 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17285 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17286 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17287 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17288 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17289 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17290 @samp{subject}) first.
17292 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17293 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17304 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17305 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17311 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17318 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17319 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17324 @section Score Decays
17325 @cindex score decays
17328 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17329 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17330 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17331 use them in any sensible way.
17333 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17334 @findex gnus-decay-score
17335 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17336 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17337 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17338 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17339 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17340 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17341 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17342 definition of that function:
17345 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17347 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17348 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17351 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17353 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17355 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17358 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17359 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17360 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17361 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17365 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17368 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17371 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17375 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17376 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17377 the new score, which should be an integer.
17379 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17380 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17387 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17388 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17389 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17390 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17391 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17392 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17393 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17394 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17395 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17396 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17397 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17398 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17399 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17400 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17401 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17402 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17403 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17404 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17408 @node Process/Prefix
17409 @section Process/Prefix
17410 @cindex process/prefix convention
17412 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17413 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17415 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17416 command to be performed on.
17420 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17421 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17422 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17423 with the current one.
17425 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17426 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17427 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17429 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17430 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17433 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17434 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17436 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17439 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17440 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17441 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17442 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17444 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17445 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17446 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17447 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17448 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17449 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17450 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17451 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17453 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17454 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17455 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17456 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17457 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17461 @section Interactive
17462 @cindex interaction
17466 @item gnus-novice-user
17467 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17468 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17469 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
17470 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
17471 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
17474 @item gnus-expert-user
17475 @vindex gnus-expert-user
17476 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
17477 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
17478 matter how strange.
17480 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
17481 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
17482 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
17483 is @code{t} by default.
17485 @item gnus-interactive-exit
17486 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
17487 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17492 @node Symbolic Prefixes
17493 @section Symbolic Prefixes
17494 @cindex symbolic prefixes
17496 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
17497 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
17498 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
17499 rule of 900 to the current article.
17501 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
17502 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
17503 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
17504 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
17505 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
17506 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
17507 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
17509 @kindex M-i (Summary)
17510 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
17511 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
17512 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
17513 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
17514 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
17515 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
17516 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
17517 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
17519 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
17520 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
17521 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
17523 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17527 @node Formatting Variables
17528 @section Formatting Variables
17529 @cindex formatting variables
17531 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17532 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17533 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17534 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17535 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17538 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17539 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17540 lots of percentages everywhere.
17543 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17544 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17545 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17546 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17547 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17550 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17551 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17552 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17553 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17554 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17555 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17556 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17557 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17559 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17560 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17562 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17563 @findex gnus-update-format
17564 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17565 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17566 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17567 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17571 @node Formatting Basics
17572 @subsection Formatting Basics
17574 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17575 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17576 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17578 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17579 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17580 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17581 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17582 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17585 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17586 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17587 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17588 less than 4 characters wide.
17591 @node Mode Line Formatting
17592 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17594 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17595 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17596 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17597 with the following two differences:
17602 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17605 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17606 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17607 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17608 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17609 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17610 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17611 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17616 @node Advanced Formatting
17617 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17619 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17620 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17621 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17622 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17624 These are the valid modifiers:
17629 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17633 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17638 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17641 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17646 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17649 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17652 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17655 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17659 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17660 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17661 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17662 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17663 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17664 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17665 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17667 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17668 last operation, padding.
17670 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
17671 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
17672 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
17673 @xref{Compilation}.
17676 @node User-Defined Specs
17677 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17679 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17680 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17681 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17682 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17683 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17684 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17685 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17686 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17687 should protect against that.
17689 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17690 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17691 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17692 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17696 @node Formatting Fonts
17697 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17699 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17700 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17701 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17702 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17705 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17706 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17707 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17708 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17709 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17710 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17712 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17713 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17714 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17715 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17716 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17717 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17718 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17719 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17721 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17724 ;; Create three face types.
17725 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17726 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17728 ;; We want the article count to be in
17729 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17730 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17731 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17733 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17734 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17736 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17737 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17738 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17741 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17742 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17744 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17745 mode-line variables.
17748 @node Windows Configuration
17749 @section Windows Configuration
17750 @cindex windows configuration
17752 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17754 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17755 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17756 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17757 @code{t} by default.
17759 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17760 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17762 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17763 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17764 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17767 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17768 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17769 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17773 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17774 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17775 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17776 possible names is listed below.
17778 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17779 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17782 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17786 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17787 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17788 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17789 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17790 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17791 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17792 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17793 size spec per split.
17795 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17796 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17797 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17798 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17799 present) gets focus.
17801 Here's a more complicated example:
17804 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17805 (summary 0.25 point)
17806 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17810 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17811 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17812 occupy, not a percentage.
17814 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17815 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17816 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17817 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17818 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17821 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17824 (article (horizontal 1.0
17829 (summary 0.25 point)
17834 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17835 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17837 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17838 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17839 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17840 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17841 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17843 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17844 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17845 lines from the splits.
17847 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17851 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17852 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17853 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17854 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17855 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17856 size = number | frame-params
17857 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
17860 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17861 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17862 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17863 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17865 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17866 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17867 @cindex window height
17868 @cindex window width
17869 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17870 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17871 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17872 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17873 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17874 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17876 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17877 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17878 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17879 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17881 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17882 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17883 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17884 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17885 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17886 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17887 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17888 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17889 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17890 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17891 configuration list.
17894 (gnus-configure-frame
17898 (article 0.3 point))
17906 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17907 @code{frame} split:
17910 (gnus-configure-frame
17913 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17915 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17916 (user-position . t)
17917 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17922 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17923 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17924 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17925 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17926 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17927 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17928 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17929 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17931 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17932 be found in its default value.
17934 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17935 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17936 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17940 (message (horizontal 1.0
17941 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17943 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17948 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17949 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17950 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17955 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17956 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17957 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17958 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17959 (name . "Message"))
17960 (message 1.0 point))))
17963 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17964 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17965 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17966 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17967 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17970 (gnus-add-configuration
17971 '(article (vertical 1.0
17973 (summary .25 point)
17977 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17978 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17979 Gnus has been loaded.
17981 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17982 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17983 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17984 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17985 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17987 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17988 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17989 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17992 @subsection Example Window Configurations
17996 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
17997 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18012 (gnus-add-configuration
18015 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18017 (summary 0.16 point)
18020 (gnus-add-configuration
18023 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18024 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18030 @node Faces and Fonts
18031 @section Faces and Fonts
18036 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18037 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18038 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18043 @section Compilation
18044 @cindex compilation
18045 @cindex byte-compilation
18047 @findex gnus-compile
18049 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18050 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18051 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18052 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18053 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18054 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18057 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18058 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18059 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18060 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18061 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18062 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18063 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18067 @section Mode Lines
18070 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18071 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18072 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18073 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18074 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18075 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18076 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18079 @cindex display-time
18081 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18082 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18083 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18084 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18085 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18086 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18087 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18088 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18091 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18093 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18094 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18096 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18097 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18098 (length display-time-string)))))
18101 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18102 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18103 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18104 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18105 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18108 @node Highlighting and Menus
18109 @section Highlighting and Menus
18111 @cindex highlighting
18114 @vindex gnus-visual
18115 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18116 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18117 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18120 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18121 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18124 @item group-highlight
18125 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18126 @item summary-highlight
18127 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18128 @item article-highlight
18129 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18131 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18133 Create menus in the group buffer.
18135 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18137 Create menus in the article buffer.
18139 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18141 Create menus in the server buffer.
18143 Create menus in the score buffers.
18145 Create menus in all buffers.
18148 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18149 buffers, you could say something like:
18152 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18155 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18158 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18161 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18162 in all Gnus buffers.
18164 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18167 @item gnus-mouse-face
18168 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18169 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18170 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18174 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18178 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18179 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18180 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18182 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18183 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18184 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18186 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18187 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18188 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18190 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18191 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18192 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18194 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18195 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18196 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18198 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18199 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18200 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18211 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18212 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18213 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18214 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18215 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18219 @vindex gnus-carpal
18220 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18221 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18222 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18227 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18228 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18229 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18231 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18232 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18233 Face used on buttons.
18235 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18236 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18237 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18239 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18240 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18241 Buttons in the group buffer.
18243 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18244 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18245 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18247 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18248 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18249 Buttons in the server buffer.
18251 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18252 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18253 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18256 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18257 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18258 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18266 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18267 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18268 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18269 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18270 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18272 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18273 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18274 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18276 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18277 been idle for thirty minutes:
18280 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18283 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18287 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18290 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18291 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18292 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18294 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18295 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18296 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18297 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18299 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18300 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18301 @var{idle} minutes.
18303 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18304 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18307 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18308 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18309 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18311 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18312 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18313 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18314 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18316 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18317 your @file{.gnus} file:
18319 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18321 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18324 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18325 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18326 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18327 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18328 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18329 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18330 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18331 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18332 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18333 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18334 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18336 @findex gnus-demon-init
18337 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18338 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18339 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18340 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18341 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18343 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18344 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18345 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18354 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18355 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18357 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18358 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18359 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18360 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18363 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18364 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18365 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18366 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18368 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
18369 this will make spam disappear.
18371 There are some variables to customize, of course:
18374 @item gnus-use-nocem
18375 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
18376 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
18379 @item gnus-nocem-groups
18380 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
18381 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
18382 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18383 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18385 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18386 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18387 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18388 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18389 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18390 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
18392 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
18393 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
18395 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
18396 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
18397 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
18398 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
18399 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
18400 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
18401 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
18402 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
18403 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
18404 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18406 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18407 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18410 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
18413 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
18414 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
18417 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
18420 The specs are applied left-to-right.
18423 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
18424 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
18426 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
18427 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
18428 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
18429 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
18431 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
18432 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
18435 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
18437 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
18445 This might be dangerous, though.
18447 @item gnus-nocem-directory
18448 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
18449 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
18450 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
18452 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18453 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18454 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
18455 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
18456 might then see old spam.
18458 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
18459 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
18460 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
18461 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
18462 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
18465 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18466 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18467 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
18468 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
18472 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
18473 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
18474 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
18475 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
18482 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
18483 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
18484 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
18486 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
18487 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
18488 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
18489 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
18490 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
18491 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
18492 @code{undo} function.
18494 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
18495 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
18496 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
18497 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
18498 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
18499 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
18500 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
18501 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
18502 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
18503 never be totally undoable.
18505 @findex gnus-undo-mode
18506 @vindex gnus-use-undo
18508 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
18509 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
18510 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
18511 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
18516 @section Moderation
18519 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
18520 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
18521 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
18524 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18528 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18531 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18533 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18538 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18539 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18540 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18543 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18544 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18547 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18548 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18552 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18555 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18556 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18560 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18561 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18564 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18568 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18569 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18570 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18571 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18584 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18585 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18586 over your shoulder as you read news.
18589 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18590 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18591 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18592 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18593 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18598 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18600 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18609 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18610 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18611 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18612 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18613 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18614 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18615 @code{GIF} formats.
18618 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18619 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18620 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18621 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18622 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
18624 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18625 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
18626 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
18627 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
18628 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
18629 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18632 @node Picon Requirements
18633 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
18635 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
18636 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
18639 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
18640 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
18641 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
18643 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18644 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
18645 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
18646 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
18647 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
18651 @subsubsection Easy Picons
18653 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
18654 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
18657 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
18658 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18661 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18662 containing the Picons databases.
18664 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18667 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18668 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18673 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18681 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18682 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18683 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18684 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18685 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18690 @item gnus-picons-database
18691 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18692 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18693 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18694 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18695 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18696 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18698 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18699 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18700 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18701 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18702 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18703 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18704 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18706 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18707 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18708 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18709 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18710 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18711 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18712 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18713 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18715 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18716 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18717 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18722 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18723 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18725 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18726 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18729 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18731 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18732 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18733 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18734 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18736 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18737 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18738 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18744 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18745 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18753 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18754 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18755 don't need to worry about.
18759 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18760 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18761 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18762 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18764 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18765 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18766 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18767 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18769 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18770 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18771 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18772 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18773 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18775 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18776 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18777 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18778 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18779 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18780 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18781 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18783 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18784 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18785 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18786 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18788 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18789 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18790 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18791 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18792 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18793 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18794 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18796 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18797 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18798 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18799 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18801 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18802 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18803 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18804 Defaults to @code{t}.
18806 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18807 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18808 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18809 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18811 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18812 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18813 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18815 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18816 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18817 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18818 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18820 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18821 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
18823 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18824 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18825 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18826 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18827 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18828 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18829 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18830 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18841 @subsection Smileys
18846 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18851 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18852 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18854 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18855 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18858 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18861 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18862 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18863 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18864 text and maps that to file names.
18866 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18867 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18868 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18869 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18870 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18871 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18873 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18874 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18876 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18877 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18878 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18880 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18881 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18885 @item smiley-data-directory
18886 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18887 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18889 @item smiley-flesh-color
18890 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18891 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18893 @item smiley-features-color
18894 @vindex smiley-features-color
18895 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18897 @item smiley-tongue-color
18898 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18899 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18901 @item smiley-circle-color
18902 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18903 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18905 @item smiley-mouse-face
18906 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18907 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18913 @subsection Toolbar
18923 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18924 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18925 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18926 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18927 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18929 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18930 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18931 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18933 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18934 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18935 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18937 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18938 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18939 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18945 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18948 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18949 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18950 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18951 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18952 unusual directory structure.
18954 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18955 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18956 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18957 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18959 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18960 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18961 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18962 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18963 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18964 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18966 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18967 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18968 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18982 @node Fuzzy Matching
18983 @section Fuzzy Matching
18984 @cindex fuzzy matching
18986 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18987 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18989 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18990 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18991 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18993 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18994 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18995 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18996 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18997 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19000 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19001 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19005 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19007 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19008 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19009 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19010 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19011 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19012 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19013 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19014 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19017 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19018 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19019 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19020 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19021 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19022 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19026 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19027 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19029 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19030 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19031 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19032 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19033 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19034 part of the mail address.)
19037 (setq message-default-news-headers
19038 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19041 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19042 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19047 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19048 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19049 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19055 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19056 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19057 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19058 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19060 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19061 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19062 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19063 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19064 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19065 your fancy split rule in this way:
19070 (to "larsi" "misc")
19074 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19075 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19076 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19077 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19078 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19080 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19081 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19082 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19083 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19084 cosmic balance somewhat.
19086 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19087 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19088 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19089 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19092 @node Various Various
19093 @section Various Various
19099 @item gnus-home-directory
19100 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19101 defaults to @file{~/}.
19103 @item gnus-directory
19104 @vindex gnus-directory
19105 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19106 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19107 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19109 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19110 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19111 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19112 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19114 @item gnus-default-directory
19115 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19116 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19117 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19118 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19119 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19120 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19121 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19124 @vindex gnus-verbose
19125 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19126 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19127 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19128 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19129 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19131 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19132 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19133 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19134 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
19136 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19137 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19138 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19139 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19140 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
19141 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19142 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19143 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19144 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19145 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19147 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19148 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19149 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19150 read when doing the operation described above.
19152 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19153 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19155 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19156 @cindex characters in file names
19157 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19158 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19159 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19162 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19166 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19167 Windows (phooey) systems.
19169 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19170 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19171 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19172 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19173 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19175 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19176 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19177 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19178 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19179 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19181 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19182 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19183 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19185 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19186 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19188 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19189 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19190 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19191 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19194 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19203 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19204 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19206 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19208 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19214 Not because of victories @*
19217 but for the common sunshine,@*
19219 the largess of the spring.
19223 but for the day's work done@*
19224 as well as I was able;@*
19225 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19226 but at the common table.@*
19231 @chapter Appendices
19234 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19235 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19236 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19237 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19238 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19239 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19240 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19241 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
19249 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19250 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19252 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19253 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19254 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19255 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19256 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19258 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19259 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19260 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19261 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19262 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19263 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19265 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19266 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19267 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19268 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19271 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19272 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19273 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19274 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19275 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19276 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19277 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19278 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19279 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19283 @node Gnus Versions
19284 @subsection Gnus Versions
19285 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19287 @cindex September Gnus
19288 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19290 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19291 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19292 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19294 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19295 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19297 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19298 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19300 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19301 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19303 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19304 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19307 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19309 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19310 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19311 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19312 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19313 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19314 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19317 @node Other Gnus Versions
19318 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19321 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19322 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19323 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19324 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19326 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19327 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19328 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19329 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19336 What's the point of Gnus?
19338 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19339 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19340 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19341 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19342 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19343 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19344 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19345 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19346 keep track of millions of people who post?
19348 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19349 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19350 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19351 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
19352 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
19353 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19354 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19355 every one of you to explore and invent.
19357 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19358 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19361 @node Compatibility
19362 @subsection Compatibility
19364 @cindex compatibility
19365 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19366 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19367 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19372 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
19376 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
19379 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19382 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19383 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19384 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19385 important variables have their values copied into their global
19386 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19387 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19389 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19390 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19391 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19392 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19393 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19397 @cindex highlighting
19398 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
19399 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
19400 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
19401 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
19402 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
19403 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19406 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19407 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19408 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19409 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19411 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19412 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19413 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
19414 to stop doing it the old way.
19416 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
19418 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19420 @cindex reporting bugs
19422 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
19423 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
19424 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
19426 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
19427 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
19428 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
19429 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
19434 @subsection Conformity
19436 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
19437 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
19444 There are no known breaches of this standard.
19448 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
19450 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
19451 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
19452 We do have some breaches to this one.
19458 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
19459 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
19460 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
19461 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
19462 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
19467 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
19468 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
19469 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
19470 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
19474 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
19475 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
19480 @subsection Emacsen
19486 Gnus should work on :
19494 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
19498 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
19499 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
19502 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
19503 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
19504 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
19508 @node Gnus Development
19509 @subsection Gnus Development
19511 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
19512 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
19513 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
19514 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
19515 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
19516 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
19517 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
19518 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
19520 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
19521 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
19522 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
19523 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
19524 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19527 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19528 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19529 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19530 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19531 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19533 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19534 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19535 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19536 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19537 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19538 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19539 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19540 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19541 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
19542 can't be assumed to do so.
19547 @subsection Contributors
19548 @cindex contributors
19550 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19551 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19552 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19553 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19554 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19555 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19556 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19557 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19558 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19559 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19561 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19567 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19570 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19571 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19572 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19573 functionality and stuff.
19576 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19577 well as numerous other things).
19580 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19583 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19586 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19589 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19590 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19593 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19596 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19597 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19600 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19603 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19606 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19609 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19612 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19613 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19616 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19619 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19622 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
19625 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
19629 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
19632 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
19635 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
19638 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
19639 well as autoconf support.
19643 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
19644 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
19646 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
19655 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19659 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19669 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19684 Massimo Campostrini,
19689 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19690 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19694 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19697 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19703 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19708 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19712 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19720 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19722 Michelangelo Grigni,
19726 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19728 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19730 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19737 François Felix Ingrand,
19738 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19739 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19741 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19752 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19753 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19755 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19756 Thor Kristoffersen,
19759 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19777 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19778 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19785 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19790 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19794 John McClary Prevost,
19800 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19805 Christian von Roques,
19808 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19815 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19817 Randal L. Schwartz,
19831 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19836 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19852 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19857 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19858 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19859 (550kB and counting).
19861 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19864 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19865 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19869 @subsection New Features
19870 @cindex new features
19873 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19874 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
19875 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19876 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19877 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
19880 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19881 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19882 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19885 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19887 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19892 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19893 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19896 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19897 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19900 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19903 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19904 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19905 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19908 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19909 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19910 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19911 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19914 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19915 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19918 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19919 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19920 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19923 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19924 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19927 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19928 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19929 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19932 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19933 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19934 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19937 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19938 the @file{.emacs} file.
19941 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19942 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19945 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19946 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19949 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19950 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19953 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19954 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19957 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19958 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19961 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19964 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19965 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19968 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19969 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19972 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19973 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19976 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19979 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19980 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19983 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19987 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19991 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19992 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19995 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20001 @node September Gnus
20002 @subsubsection September Gnus
20006 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
20010 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20015 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20016 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20020 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20021 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20025 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20029 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20030 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20033 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20037 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20040 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20043 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20046 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20050 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20051 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20054 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20058 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20062 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20066 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20070 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20073 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20074 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20077 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20081 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20082 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20085 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20088 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20089 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20090 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20093 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20097 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20100 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20104 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20105 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20108 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20109 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20112 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20113 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20116 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20117 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20118 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20121 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20122 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20125 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20128 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20131 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20134 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20137 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20138 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20141 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
20145 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20148 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
20153 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20156 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20160 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20163 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20167 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20170 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20173 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20174 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20177 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20178 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20182 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20183 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20186 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20190 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20191 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20194 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20197 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20201 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20205 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20206 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20209 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20213 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20214 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20217 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20218 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20221 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20225 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20228 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20231 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20237 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20239 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20243 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
20250 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20253 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20254 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20257 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20258 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20262 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20263 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20266 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20269 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20270 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20273 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20277 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20278 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20282 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20283 Server Internals}).
20286 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20290 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20293 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20294 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20297 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20298 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20299 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20302 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20303 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20306 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20307 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20310 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20314 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20315 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20318 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20319 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20322 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20326 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20329 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20333 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20334 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20337 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20338 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20341 A new command for reading collections of documents
20342 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20343 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20346 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20350 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20351 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20354 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
20355 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20356 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20359 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20360 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20364 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20368 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
20372 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
20377 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20381 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20385 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20386 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20389 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
20395 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
20397 New features in Gnus 5.6:
20402 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
20403 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
20404 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20407 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
20408 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20409 group, which is created automatically.
20412 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
20416 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
20419 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
20420 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
20423 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
20427 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
20430 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
20431 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
20434 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
20437 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
20438 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
20441 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
20442 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
20445 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
20446 control over simplification.
20449 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
20452 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
20456 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
20459 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
20462 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
20463 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
20464 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
20467 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
20468 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
20471 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
20475 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
20476 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
20479 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
20480 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
20483 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
20487 A history of where mails have been split is available.
20490 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
20493 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
20494 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
20497 A new function for citing in Message has been
20498 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
20501 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
20504 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
20508 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
20509 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
20512 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
20513 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
20516 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
20519 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
20523 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
20524 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
20526 New features in Gnus 5.8:
20530 @item The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
20531 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
20533 If you used procmail like in
20536 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
20537 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
20538 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
20539 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
20542 this now has changed to
20546 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
20550 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
20551 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
20553 @item Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
20554 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
20556 @item Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
20557 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
20559 @item @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
20560 called to position point.
20562 @item The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
20563 summary buffers and NOV files.
20565 @item @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
20566 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
20568 @item The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
20569 subtly different manner.
20571 @item New web-based backends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
20572 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
20573 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
20575 @item Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
20583 @section The Manual
20587 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20588 either @code{texi2dvi}
20590 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20591 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20593 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20595 The following conventions have been used:
20600 This is a @samp{string}
20603 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20606 This is a @file{file}
20609 This is a @code{symbol}
20613 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20617 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20620 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20623 (setq flumphel 'yes)
20626 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
20627 ever get them confused.
20631 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
20632 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
20633 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
20634 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
20635 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
20636 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
20637 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
20643 @node On Writing Manuals
20644 @section On Writing Manuals
20646 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
20647 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
20648 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
20649 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
20650 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
20651 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
20654 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
20655 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
20656 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
20659 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
20660 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
20665 @section Terminology
20667 @cindex terminology
20672 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
20673 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
20674 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
20675 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
20676 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
20680 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
20681 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
20682 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
20683 not posting, and replying is not following up.
20687 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
20691 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
20696 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
20697 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
20698 is all done by the backends.
20702 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
20703 default, way of getting news.
20707 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
20708 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
20713 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
20714 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
20718 A message that has been posted as news.
20721 @cindex mail message
20722 A message that has been mailed.
20726 A mail message or news article
20730 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
20735 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
20740 A line from the head of an article.
20744 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
20745 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
20749 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
20750 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
20751 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
20752 normal @sc{head} format.
20756 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
20757 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
20758 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
20759 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
20760 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
20761 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
20763 @item killed groups
20764 @cindex killed groups
20765 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
20766 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
20768 @item zombie groups
20769 @cindex zombie groups
20770 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
20773 @cindex active file
20774 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
20775 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
20776 is rather large, as you might surmise.
20779 @cindex bogus groups
20780 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
20781 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
20782 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
20785 @cindex activating groups
20786 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
20787 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
20788 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
20792 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
20794 @item select method
20795 @cindex select method
20796 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
20799 @item virtual server
20800 @cindex virtual server
20801 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
20802 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
20803 whole is a virtual server.
20807 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
20808 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
20811 @item ephemeral groups
20812 @cindex ephemeral groups
20813 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
20814 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
20815 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
20818 @cindex solid groups
20819 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
20820 group buffer are solid groups.
20822 @item sparse articles
20823 @cindex sparse articles
20824 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
20825 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
20829 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
20830 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
20834 @cindex thread root
20835 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
20836 articles in the thread.
20840 An article that has responses.
20844 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
20848 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
20849 specified by RFC 1153.
20855 @node Customization
20856 @section Customization
20857 @cindex general customization
20859 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
20860 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
20861 for some quite common situations.
20864 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
20865 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
20866 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
20867 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
20871 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
20872 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
20874 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
20875 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
20876 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
20880 @item gnus-read-active-file
20881 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
20882 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
20883 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
20884 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
20885 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
20887 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
20888 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
20889 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
20890 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
20894 @node Slow Terminal Connection
20895 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
20897 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
20898 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
20899 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
20903 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
20904 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
20905 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
20906 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
20907 horizontal and vertical recentering.
20909 @item gnus-visible-headers
20910 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
20911 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
20912 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
20913 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
20915 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
20917 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
20918 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
20919 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
20922 @item gnus-use-full-window
20923 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
20924 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
20925 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
20926 want to read them anyway.
20928 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
20929 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
20932 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
20933 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
20934 lines, which might save some time.
20938 @node Little Disk Space
20939 @subsection Little Disk Space
20942 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
20943 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
20947 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
20948 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
20949 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
20950 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20953 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
20954 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
20955 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
20956 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20959 @item gnus-save-killed-list
20960 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
20961 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
20962 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
20963 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
20969 @subsection Slow Machine
20970 @cindex slow machine
20972 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
20973 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
20975 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
20976 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
20978 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
20979 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
20980 summary buffer faster.
20984 @node Troubleshooting
20985 @section Troubleshooting
20986 @cindex troubleshooting
20988 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
20996 Make sure your computer is switched on.
20999 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21000 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21004 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21005 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21006 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21007 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21010 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21014 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21015 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21016 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21017 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21018 something like that.
21021 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21024 @cindex reporting bugs
21026 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21028 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21029 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21030 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21031 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21033 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21034 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21035 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21036 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21039 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21040 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21041 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21042 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21043 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21044 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21046 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21047 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21048 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21051 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21052 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21054 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21055 @cindex ding mailing list
21056 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21057 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21061 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21062 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21064 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21065 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21066 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21067 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21070 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21071 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21072 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21073 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21074 and general methods of operation.
21077 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21078 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21079 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21080 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21081 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21082 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21083 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21084 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21085 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21089 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21090 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21091 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21092 @cindex utility functions
21094 @cindex internal variables
21096 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21097 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21098 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21102 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21103 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21104 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21106 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21107 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21108 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21110 @item gnus-group-real-name
21111 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21112 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21115 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21116 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21117 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21118 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21120 @item gnus-get-info
21121 @findex gnus-get-info
21122 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21124 @item gnus-group-unread
21125 @findex gnus-group-unread
21126 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21130 @findex gnus-active
21131 The active entry for @var{group}.
21133 @item gnus-set-active
21134 @findex gnus-set-active
21135 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21137 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21138 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21139 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21142 @item gnus-continuum-version
21143 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21144 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21145 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21148 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21149 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21150 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21152 @item gnus-news-group-p
21153 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21154 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21156 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21157 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21158 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21160 @item gnus-server-to-method
21161 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21162 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21164 @item gnus-server-equal
21165 @findex gnus-server-equal
21166 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21168 @item gnus-group-native-p
21169 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21170 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21172 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21173 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21174 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21176 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21177 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21178 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21180 @item group-group-find-parameter
21181 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21182 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21183 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21185 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21186 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21187 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21189 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21190 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21191 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21193 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21194 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21195 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21196 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21199 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21203 @item gnus-read-method
21204 @findex gnus-read-method
21205 Prompts the user for a select method.
21210 @node Backend Interface
21211 @subsection Backend Interface
21213 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21214 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21215 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21216 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21217 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21218 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21220 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21221 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21222 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21223 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21224 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21225 been opened, the function should fail.
21227 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21228 name. Take this example:
21232 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21233 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21236 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21237 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21239 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21240 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21241 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21243 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21244 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21245 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21247 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21248 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21249 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21250 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21251 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21252 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21255 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21256 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21257 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21258 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21261 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21264 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21267 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21268 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21269 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21270 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21271 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21272 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21276 @node Required Backend Functions
21277 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21281 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21283 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21284 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21285 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21286 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21288 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21289 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21290 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21291 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21293 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21294 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21295 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21296 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21297 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21298 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21299 number, do maximum fetches.
21301 Here's an example HEAD:
21304 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21305 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21306 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21307 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21308 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21309 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21310 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21312 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21313 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21314 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21318 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21319 these in the data buffer.
21321 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21325 head = error / valid-head
21326 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21327 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21328 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21329 header = <text> eol
21332 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21333 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21337 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21338 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21339 field = <text except TAB>
21342 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21346 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21348 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21349 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21351 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21352 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21353 server. In fact, it should do so.
21355 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21356 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21359 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21361 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21362 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21365 There should be no data returned.
21368 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21370 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21371 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21372 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21373 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21375 There should be no data returned.
21378 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21380 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21381 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21382 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21383 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21385 There should be no data returned.
21388 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21390 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21392 There should be no data returned.
21395 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21397 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21398 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21399 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21400 it would be nice if that were possible.
21402 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21403 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21404 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21405 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21406 into its article buffer.
21408 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21409 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21410 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21411 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21412 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21413 on successful article retrieval.
21416 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21418 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21419 making @var{group} the current group.
21421 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21424 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21427 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21430 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21431 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21432 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21433 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21434 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21435 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21436 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21437 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21440 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21441 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21442 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21446 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21448 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21449 a no-op on most backends.
21451 There should be no data returned.
21454 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21456 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21459 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21462 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21463 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21466 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21467 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21470 active-file = *active-line
21471 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21473 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21476 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21477 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21478 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21481 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21483 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21484 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21485 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21486 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21487 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21488 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21490 There should be no result data from this function.
21495 @node Optional Backend Functions
21496 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21500 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21502 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21503 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21504 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21506 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21507 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21508 former is in the same format as the data from
21509 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21510 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21513 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21517 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21519 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21520 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21521 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21522 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21523 should return the (altered) group info.
21525 There should be no result data from this function.
21528 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21530 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21531 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21532 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21533 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21534 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21535 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21536 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21537 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21539 There should be no result data from this function.
21542 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21544 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21545 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21546 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21547 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21548 propagate the mark information to the server.
21550 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21553 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21556 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
21557 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
21558 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
21559 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
21560 mentioned) marks. MARK is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
21561 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
21562 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
21563 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
21564 not limit itself to these.
21566 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21567 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21568 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21569 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21571 An example action list:
21574 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21575 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21576 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21579 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21580 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21582 There should be no result data from this function.
21584 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21586 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21587 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21588 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21589 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21590 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21592 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21593 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21594 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21597 There should be no result data from this function.
21600 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
21602 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
21603 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
21604 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
21605 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
21606 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
21607 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
21608 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
21610 There should be no result data from this function.
21613 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
21615 The result data from this function should be a description of
21619 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
21621 description = <text>
21624 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
21626 The result data from this function should be the description of all
21627 groups available on the server.
21630 description-buffer = *description-line
21634 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
21636 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
21637 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
21638 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
21641 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21643 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
21645 There should be no return data.
21648 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
21650 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
21651 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
21652 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
21653 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
21654 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
21657 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
21660 There should be no result data returned.
21663 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
21666 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
21667 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
21669 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
21670 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
21671 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
21672 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
21673 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
21674 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
21676 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
21677 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
21680 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21681 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21683 There should be no data returned.
21686 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
21688 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
21689 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
21690 this function in short order.
21692 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
21693 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
21695 There should be no data returned.
21698 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
21700 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
21701 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
21703 There should be no data returned.
21706 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
21708 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
21709 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
21710 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
21712 There should be no data returned.
21715 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
21717 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
21718 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
21720 There should be no data returned.
21725 @node Error Messaging
21726 @subsubsection Error Messaging
21728 @findex nnheader-report
21729 @findex nnheader-get-report
21730 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
21731 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
21732 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
21733 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
21734 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
21735 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
21738 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
21740 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
21743 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
21744 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
21745 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
21746 takes one argument---the server symbol.
21748 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
21749 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
21750 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
21753 @node Writing New Backends
21754 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
21756 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
21757 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
21758 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
21759 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
21760 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
21763 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
21764 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
21765 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
21767 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
21768 package called @code{nnoo}.
21770 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
21771 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
21777 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
21778 parameters. For instance:
21781 (nnoo-declare nndir
21785 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
21786 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
21789 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
21790 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
21791 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
21793 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
21794 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
21795 a function in those backends.
21798 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
21799 "Where nndir will look for groups."
21800 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
21803 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
21804 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
21805 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
21807 @item nnoo-define-basics
21808 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
21812 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
21816 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
21817 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
21818 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
21820 @item nnoo-map-functions
21821 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
21822 functions from the parent backends.
21825 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
21826 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21827 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
21830 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
21831 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
21832 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
21833 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
21836 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
21837 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
21838 haven't already been defined.
21844 nnmh-request-newgroups)
21848 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
21849 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
21850 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
21855 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
21858 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
21859 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
21863 (require 'nnheader)
21867 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
21869 (nnoo-declare nndir
21872 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
21873 "Where nndir will look for groups."
21874 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
21876 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
21877 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
21880 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
21882 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
21883 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
21884 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
21886 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
21887 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
21889 ;;; Interface functions.
21891 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
21893 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
21894 (setq nndir-directory
21895 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
21897 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
21898 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
21899 (push `(nndir-current-group
21900 ,(file-name-nondirectory
21901 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
21903 (push `(nndir-top-directory
21904 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
21906 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
21908 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
21909 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21910 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
21911 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
21912 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
21916 nnmh-status-message
21918 nnmh-request-newgroups))
21924 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
21925 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
21927 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
21928 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
21929 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
21930 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
21932 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
21933 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
21938 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
21941 The abilities can be:
21945 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
21947 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
21949 This backend supports both mail and news.
21951 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
21954 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
21955 articles and groups.
21957 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
21958 true for almost all backends.
21959 @item prompt-address
21960 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
21961 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
21962 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
21966 @node Mail-like Backends
21967 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
21969 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
21970 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
21971 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
21972 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
21975 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
21976 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
21977 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
21980 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
21981 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
21984 This function takes four parameters.
21988 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
21991 @item exit-function
21992 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
21994 @item temp-directory
21995 Where the temporary files should be stored.
21998 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
21999 performed for one group only.
22002 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22003 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22004 find the article number assigned to this article.
22006 The function also uses the following variables:
22007 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22008 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22009 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22010 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22014 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22015 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22019 @node Score File Syntax
22020 @subsection Score File Syntax
22022 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22023 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22024 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22026 Here's a typical score file:
22030 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22037 BNF definition of a score file:
22040 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22041 element = rule / atom
22042 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22043 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22044 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22045 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22047 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22048 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22049 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22050 date-header = "date"
22051 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22052 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22053 score = "nil" / <integer>
22054 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22055 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22056 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22057 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22058 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22059 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22060 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22061 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22062 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22063 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22064 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22065 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22066 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22067 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22068 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22069 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22070 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22071 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22072 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22073 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22074 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22075 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22076 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22077 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22078 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22079 eval = "eval" space <form>
22080 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22083 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22086 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22087 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22088 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22089 one looong line, then that's ok.
22091 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22092 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22096 @subsection Headers
22098 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22099 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22100 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22101 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22103 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22104 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22105 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22106 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22107 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22108 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22109 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22111 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22112 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22113 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22114 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22115 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22117 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22118 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22124 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22125 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22127 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22128 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22129 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22130 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22132 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22136 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22139 is transformed into
22142 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22145 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22146 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22149 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22152 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22153 is slightly tricky:
22156 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22162 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22165 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22171 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22178 and is equal to the previous range.
22180 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22181 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22182 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22186 range = simple-range / normal-range
22187 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22188 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22189 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22190 number *[ " " contents ]
22193 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22194 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22195 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22196 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22197 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22202 @subsection Group Info
22204 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22205 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22206 describes the group.
22208 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22209 second is a more complex one:
22212 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22214 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22215 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22217 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22220 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22221 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22222 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22223 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22224 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22225 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22226 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22227 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22228 this section is about.
22230 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22231 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22232 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22234 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22237 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22238 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22239 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22240 group = quote <string> quote
22241 ralevel = rank / level
22242 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22243 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22244 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22246 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22247 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22248 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22249 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22252 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22253 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22256 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22257 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22260 @item gnus-info-group
22261 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22262 @findex gnus-info-group
22263 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22264 Get/set the group name.
22266 @item gnus-info-rank
22267 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22268 @findex gnus-info-rank
22269 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22270 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22272 @item gnus-info-level
22273 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22274 @findex gnus-info-level
22275 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22276 Get/set the group level.
22278 @item gnus-info-score
22279 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22280 @findex gnus-info-score
22281 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22282 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22284 @item gnus-info-read
22285 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22286 @findex gnus-info-read
22287 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22288 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22290 @item gnus-info-marks
22291 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22292 @findex gnus-info-marks
22293 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22294 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22296 @item gnus-info-method
22297 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22298 @findex gnus-info-method
22299 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22300 Get/set the group select method.
22302 @item gnus-info-params
22303 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22304 @findex gnus-info-params
22305 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22306 Get/set the group parameters.
22309 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22310 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22312 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22313 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22314 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22315 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22318 @node Extended Interactive
22319 @subsection Extended Interactive
22320 @cindex interactive
22321 @findex gnus-interactive
22323 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22324 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22325 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22328 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22329 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22334 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22335 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22336 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22337 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22338 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22339 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22340 @code{interactive}.
22342 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22347 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22348 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22352 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22353 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22354 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22357 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22361 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22365 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22371 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22372 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22376 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22377 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22378 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22380 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22381 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22382 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22383 Gnus, that's very useful.
22385 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22386 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22387 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22388 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22389 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22390 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22391 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22392 following function:
22395 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22399 (,function ,@@args))
22403 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22404 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22405 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22408 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22409 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22410 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22412 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22413 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22414 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22417 @node Various File Formats
22418 @subsection Various File Formats
22421 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22422 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22426 @node Active File Format
22427 @subsubsection Active File Format
22429 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22430 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22433 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22436 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22437 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22438 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22439 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22440 no.general 1000 900 y
22443 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22446 active = *group-line
22447 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
22448 group = <non-white-space string>
22450 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22451 low-number = <positive integer>
22452 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22455 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22456 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22459 @node Newsgroups File Format
22460 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22462 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22463 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22464 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22467 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22468 Here's the definition:
22472 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22473 group = <non-white-space string>
22475 description = <string>
22480 @node Emacs for Heathens
22481 @section Emacs for Heathens
22483 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22484 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22485 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22486 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22487 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22488 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22489 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22493 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22494 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22499 @subsection Keystrokes
22503 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22506 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22509 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22510 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22511 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22512 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22513 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22514 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22516 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22517 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22518 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22519 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22520 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22521 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22522 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22524 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22525 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22526 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22527 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22528 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22529 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22530 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22532 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22533 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22534 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22535 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22536 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22542 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22544 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22545 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22546 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22547 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22549 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22550 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22551 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22552 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22553 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22554 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22555 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22558 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22559 write the following:
22562 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22565 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22566 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22567 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22570 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22571 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22572 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22573 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22574 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22576 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22577 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22578 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22582 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22586 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22589 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22590 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22593 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22596 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22597 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22600 @include gnus-faq.texi
22621 % LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
22622 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
22623 % LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
22624 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
22625 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref