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10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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268 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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277 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
278 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
281 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
282 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
283 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
284 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
285 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
286 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
287 License'' in the Emacs manual.
289 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
290 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
291 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
293 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
294 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
295 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
296 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
304 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
306 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
311 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
331 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
334 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
335 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
340 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
361 @top The Gnus Newsreader
365 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
366 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
367 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
370 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
381 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
382 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
384 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
385 being accused of plagiarism:
387 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
388 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
389 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
390 can even read news with it!
392 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
393 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
394 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
395 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
396 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
402 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
403 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
404 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
405 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
406 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
407 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
408 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
409 * Various:: General purpose settings.
410 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
411 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
412 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
413 * Key Index:: Key Index.
416 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
420 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
421 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
422 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
423 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
424 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
425 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
426 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
427 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
428 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
429 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
430 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
434 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
435 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
436 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
440 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
441 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
442 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
443 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
444 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
445 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
446 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
447 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
448 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
449 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
450 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
451 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
452 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
453 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
454 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
455 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
456 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
460 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
461 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
462 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
466 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
467 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
468 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
469 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
470 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
474 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
475 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
476 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
477 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
481 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
482 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
483 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
484 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
485 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
487 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
488 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
489 * Threading:: How threads are made.
490 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
491 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
492 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
493 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
494 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
495 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
496 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
497 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
498 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
499 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
500 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
501 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
502 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
503 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
504 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
505 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
506 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
507 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
508 or reselecting the current group.
509 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
510 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
511 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
512 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
514 Summary Buffer Format
516 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
517 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
518 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
519 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
523 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
524 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
526 Reply, Followup and Post
528 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
529 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
530 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
531 * Canceling and Superseding::
535 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
536 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
537 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
539 * Generic Marking Commands::
540 * Setting Process Marks::
544 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
545 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
546 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
550 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
551 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
553 Customizing Threading
555 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
556 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
557 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
558 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
562 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
563 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
564 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
565 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
566 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
567 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
571 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
572 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
573 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
577 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
578 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
579 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
580 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
581 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
582 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
583 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
584 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
586 Alternative Approaches
588 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
589 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
591 Various Summary Stuff
593 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
594 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
595 * Summary Generation Commands::
596 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
600 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
601 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
602 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
603 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
604 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
608 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
609 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
610 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
611 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
612 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
613 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
614 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
615 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
619 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
620 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
621 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
622 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
623 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
624 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
625 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
629 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
630 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
631 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
632 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
633 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
634 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
635 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
639 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
640 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
644 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
645 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
646 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
650 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
651 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
652 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
653 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
654 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
655 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
656 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
657 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
658 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
659 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
660 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
661 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
662 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
666 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
667 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
668 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
670 Choosing a Mail Backend
672 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
673 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
674 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
675 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
676 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
677 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
681 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
682 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
683 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
684 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
685 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
686 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
690 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
691 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
692 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
693 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
694 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
695 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
699 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
703 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
704 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
705 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
709 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
710 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
711 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
715 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
716 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
720 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
721 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
722 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
723 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
724 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
725 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
726 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
727 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
728 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
729 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
733 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
734 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
735 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
739 * Group Agent Commands::
740 * Summary Agent Commands::
741 * Server Agent Commands::
745 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
746 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
747 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
748 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
749 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
750 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
751 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
752 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
753 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
754 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
755 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
756 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
757 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
758 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
759 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
760 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
761 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
765 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
766 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
767 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
768 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
772 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
773 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
774 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
778 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
779 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
780 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
781 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
782 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
783 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
784 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
785 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
786 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
787 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
788 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
789 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
790 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
791 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
792 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
793 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
794 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
795 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
799 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
800 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
801 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
802 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
803 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
804 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
805 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
806 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
810 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
811 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
812 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
813 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
817 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
818 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
819 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
820 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
821 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
825 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
826 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
827 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
828 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
829 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
830 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
831 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
835 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
836 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
837 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
838 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
839 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
840 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
841 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
842 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
843 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
847 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
848 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
849 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
850 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
851 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
855 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
856 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
857 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
858 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
862 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
863 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
864 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
865 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
866 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
867 * Group Info:: The group info format.
868 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
869 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
870 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
874 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
875 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
876 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
877 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
878 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
879 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
883 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
884 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
888 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
889 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
895 @chapter Starting Gnus
900 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
901 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
904 @findex gnus-other-frame
905 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
906 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
907 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
909 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
910 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
911 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
913 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
914 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
917 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
918 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
919 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
920 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
921 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
922 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
923 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
924 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
925 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
926 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
927 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
931 @node Finding the News
932 @section Finding the News
935 @vindex gnus-select-method
937 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
938 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
939 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
940 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
943 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
944 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
947 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
950 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
953 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
956 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
957 certainly be much faster.
959 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
961 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
962 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
963 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
964 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
965 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
966 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
968 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
969 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
970 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
971 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
973 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
974 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
975 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
976 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
977 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
978 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
979 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
980 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
981 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
984 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
986 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
987 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
988 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
989 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
990 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
991 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
993 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
995 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
996 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
997 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
998 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
999 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1000 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1003 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
1004 would typically set this variable to
1007 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1011 @node The First Time
1012 @section The First Time
1013 @cindex first time usage
1015 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1016 be subscribed by default.
1018 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1019 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1020 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1021 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1024 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1025 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1026 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1028 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1029 help you with most common problems.
1031 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1032 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1036 @node The Server is Down
1037 @section The Server is Down
1038 @cindex server errors
1040 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1041 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1042 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1044 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1045 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1046 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1047 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1048 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1049 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1050 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1052 @findex gnus-no-server
1053 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1055 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1056 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1057 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1058 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1059 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1060 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1061 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1065 @section Slave Gnusae
1068 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1069 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1070 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1071 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1073 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1074 @code{.newsrc} file.
1076 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1077 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1078 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1079 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1080 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1081 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1082 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1084 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1085 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1086 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1087 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1088 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1089 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1090 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1091 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1093 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1094 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1097 @node Fetching a Group
1098 @section Fetching a Group
1099 @cindex fetching a group
1101 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1102 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1103 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1104 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1105 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1106 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1112 @cindex subscription
1114 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1115 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1116 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1117 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1118 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1119 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1120 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1121 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1122 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1125 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1126 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1127 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1131 @node Checking New Groups
1132 @subsection Checking New Groups
1134 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1135 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1136 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1137 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1138 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1139 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1140 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1141 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1142 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1143 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1145 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1146 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1147 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1148 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1149 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1150 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1151 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1152 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1153 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1154 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1155 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1157 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1158 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1159 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1160 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1161 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1162 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1165 @node Subscription Methods
1166 @subsection Subscription Methods
1168 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1169 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1170 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1172 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1173 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1175 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1179 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1180 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1181 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1182 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1183 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1185 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1186 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1187 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1188 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1190 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1191 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1192 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1194 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1195 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1196 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1197 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1198 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1199 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1200 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1201 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1202 up. Or something like that.
1204 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1205 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1206 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1207 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1208 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1210 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1211 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1212 Kill all new groups.
1214 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1215 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1216 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1217 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1218 topic parameter that looks like
1224 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1227 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1233 A closely related variable is
1234 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1235 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1236 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1237 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1240 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1241 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1242 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1243 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1246 @node Filtering New Groups
1247 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1249 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1250 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1251 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1254 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1257 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1258 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1259 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1260 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1261 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1262 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1263 subscribing these groups.
1264 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1265 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1267 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1268 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1269 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1270 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1271 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1272 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1273 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1274 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1276 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1277 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1278 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1279 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1280 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1281 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1282 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1283 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1284 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1285 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1287 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1288 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1291 @node Changing Servers
1292 @section Changing Servers
1293 @cindex changing servers
1295 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1296 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1297 very flaky and you want to use another.
1299 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1300 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1304 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1305 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1306 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1307 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1310 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1311 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1312 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1313 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1315 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1316 @findex gnus-change-server
1317 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1318 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1319 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1320 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1321 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1323 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1324 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1325 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1326 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1327 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1329 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1330 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1331 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1332 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1333 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1334 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1336 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1337 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1338 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1342 @section Startup Files
1343 @cindex startup files
1348 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1349 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1351 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1352 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1353 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1354 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1355 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1356 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1357 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1359 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1360 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1361 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1362 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1363 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1364 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1366 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1367 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1368 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1369 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1370 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1371 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1372 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1373 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1374 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1375 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1377 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1378 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1379 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1380 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1381 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1382 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1383 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1384 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1385 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1386 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1387 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1388 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1390 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1391 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1392 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1393 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1395 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1396 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1397 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1398 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1399 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1400 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1401 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1402 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1403 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1404 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1407 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1408 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1410 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1411 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1414 @vindex gnus-init-file
1415 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1416 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1417 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1418 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1419 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1420 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1421 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1422 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1423 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1429 @cindex dribble file
1432 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1433 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1434 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1435 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1436 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1439 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1440 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1443 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1444 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1445 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1447 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1448 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1449 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1450 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1451 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1452 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1454 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1455 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1456 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1459 @node The Active File
1460 @section The Active File
1462 @cindex ignored groups
1464 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1465 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1466 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1468 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1469 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1470 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1471 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1472 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1473 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1474 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1477 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1478 @c if you set it to anything else.
1480 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1482 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1483 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1484 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1486 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1487 you actually subscribe to.
1489 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1490 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1491 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1492 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1494 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1495 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1496 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1497 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1498 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1499 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1501 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1502 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1503 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1506 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1507 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1508 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1509 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1510 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1511 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1513 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1514 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1516 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1517 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1519 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1520 secondary select methods.
1523 @node Startup Variables
1524 @section Startup Variables
1528 @item gnus-load-hook
1529 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1530 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1531 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1532 times you start Gnus.
1534 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1535 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1536 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1538 @item gnus-startup-hook
1539 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1540 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1542 @item gnus-started-hook
1543 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1544 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1547 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1548 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1549 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1550 generating the group buffer.
1552 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1553 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1554 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1555 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1556 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1557 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1558 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1559 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1561 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1562 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1563 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1564 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1565 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1566 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1568 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1569 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1570 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1572 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1573 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1574 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1576 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1577 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1578 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1579 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1585 @chapter Group Buffer
1586 @cindex group buffer
1588 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1589 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1590 long as Gnus is active.
1594 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1595 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1596 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1597 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1598 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1599 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1600 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1601 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1607 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1608 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1609 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1610 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1611 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1612 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1613 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1614 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1615 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1616 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1617 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1618 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1619 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1620 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1621 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1622 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1623 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1627 @node Group Buffer Format
1628 @section Group Buffer Format
1631 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1632 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1633 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1637 @node Group Line Specification
1638 @subsection Group Line Specification
1639 @cindex group buffer format
1641 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1642 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1644 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1647 25: news.announce.newusers
1648 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1653 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1654 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1655 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1656 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1658 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1659 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1660 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1661 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1662 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1663 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1665 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1667 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1668 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1669 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1670 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1673 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1674 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1675 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1677 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1682 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1685 Whether the group is subscribed.
1688 Level of subscribedness.
1691 Number of unread articles.
1694 Number of dormant articles.
1697 Number of ticked articles.
1700 Number of read articles.
1703 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1704 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1706 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1707 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1708 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1709 raisins, even the mail backends, where the true number of unread
1710 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1711 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1712 backend interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1713 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1716 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1719 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1728 Newsgroup description.
1731 @samp{m} if moderated.
1734 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1743 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1747 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1750 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1751 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1752 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1753 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1754 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1757 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1759 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1763 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1766 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1770 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1771 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1772 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1773 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1774 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1775 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1780 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1781 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1782 group, or a bogus native group.
1785 @node Group Modeline Specification
1786 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1787 @cindex group modeline
1789 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1790 The mode line can be changed by setting
1791 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1792 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1796 The native news server.
1798 The native select method.
1802 @node Group Highlighting
1803 @subsection Group Highlighting
1804 @cindex highlighting
1805 @cindex group highlighting
1807 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1808 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1809 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1810 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1811 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1813 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1817 (cond (window-system
1818 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1819 (defface my-group-face-1
1820 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1821 (defface my-group-face-2
1822 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1823 (defface my-group-face-3
1824 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1825 (defface my-group-face-4
1826 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1827 (defface my-group-face-5
1828 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1830 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1831 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1832 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1833 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1834 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1835 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1838 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1840 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1847 The number of unread articles in the group.
1851 Whether the group is a mail group.
1853 The level of the group.
1855 The score of the group.
1857 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1859 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1860 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1862 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1863 topic being inserted.
1866 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1867 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1868 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1870 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1871 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1872 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1873 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1874 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1877 @node Group Maneuvering
1878 @section Group Maneuvering
1879 @cindex group movement
1881 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1882 expected, hopefully.
1888 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1889 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1890 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1896 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1897 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1898 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1902 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1903 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1907 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1908 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1912 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1913 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1914 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1918 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1919 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1920 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1923 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1929 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1930 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1931 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1936 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1937 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1938 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1942 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1943 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1944 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1947 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1948 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1949 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1950 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1954 @node Selecting a Group
1955 @section Selecting a Group
1956 @cindex group selection
1961 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1962 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1963 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1964 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1965 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1966 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1967 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1968 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1969 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1970 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1972 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1973 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1974 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1976 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1977 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
1982 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1983 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1984 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1985 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1986 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1990 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1991 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1992 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1993 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1994 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1995 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1996 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1997 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1998 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1999 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2002 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2003 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2004 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2005 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2006 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2009 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
2010 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2011 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2012 doing any processing of its contents
2013 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2014 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2015 manner will have no permanent effects.
2019 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2020 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2021 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2022 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2023 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2024 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2025 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2026 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2029 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2030 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2031 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2032 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2037 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2038 full summary buffer.
2041 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2044 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2049 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2050 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2051 Useful functions include:
2054 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2055 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2056 don't select the article.
2058 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2059 Select the first unread article.
2061 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2062 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2066 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2067 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2068 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2072 @node Subscription Commands
2073 @section Subscription Commands
2074 @cindex subscription
2082 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2083 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2084 Toggle subscription to the current group
2085 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2091 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2092 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2093 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2094 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2100 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2101 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2102 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2108 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2109 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2112 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2113 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2114 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2115 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2116 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2122 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2123 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2127 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2128 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2131 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2132 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2133 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2134 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2135 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2136 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2137 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2138 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2139 @file{.newsrc} file.
2143 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2153 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2154 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2155 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2156 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2157 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2158 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2163 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2164 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2165 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2169 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2170 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2171 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2173 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2174 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2175 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2176 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2177 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2178 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2185 @section Group Levels
2189 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2190 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2191 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2192 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2193 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2195 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2201 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2202 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2203 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2204 prompted for a level.
2207 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2208 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2209 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2210 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2211 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2212 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2213 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2214 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2215 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2216 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2217 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2218 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2219 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2220 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2221 reasons of efficiency.
2223 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2224 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2226 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2227 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2228 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2229 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2230 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2231 groups are hidden, in a way.
2233 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2234 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2235 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2236 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2237 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2238 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2240 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2241 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2242 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2243 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2244 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2245 list of killed groups.)
2247 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2248 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2249 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2251 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2252 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2253 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2254 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2255 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2256 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2257 relevant valid ranges.
2259 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2260 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2261 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2262 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2263 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2264 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2267 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2268 one with the best level.
2270 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2271 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2272 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2275 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2276 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2277 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2278 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2281 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2282 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2283 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2284 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2286 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2287 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2288 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2289 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2290 to 5. The default is 6.
2294 @section Group Score
2299 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2300 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2301 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2304 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2305 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2306 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2307 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2308 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2309 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2310 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2311 least significant part.))
2313 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2314 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2315 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2316 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2317 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2318 action after each summary exit, you can add
2319 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2320 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2321 slow things down somewhat.
2324 @node Marking Groups
2325 @section Marking Groups
2326 @cindex marking groups
2328 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2329 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2330 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2331 bidding on those groups.
2333 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2334 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2335 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2343 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2344 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2350 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2351 Remove the mark from the current group
2352 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2356 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2357 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2361 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2362 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2366 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2367 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2371 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2372 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2373 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2376 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2378 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2379 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2380 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2381 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2382 the command to be executed.
2385 @node Foreign Groups
2386 @section Foreign Groups
2387 @cindex foreign groups
2389 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2390 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2391 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2392 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2399 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2400 @cindex making groups
2401 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2402 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2403 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2407 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2408 @cindex renaming groups
2409 Rename the current group to something else
2410 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2411 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2417 @findex gnus-group-customize
2418 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2422 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2423 @cindex renaming groups
2424 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2425 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2430 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2431 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2435 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2436 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2437 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2441 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2443 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2444 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2449 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2450 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2454 @cindex (ding) archive
2455 @cindex archive group
2456 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2457 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2458 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2459 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2460 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2461 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2462 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2466 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2468 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2469 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2470 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2471 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2475 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2477 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2478 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2479 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2483 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2484 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2486 Make a group based on some file or other
2487 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2488 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2489 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2490 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2491 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2492 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2493 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2497 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2498 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2499 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2500 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2504 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2509 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2510 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2511 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2512 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2513 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2514 @xref{Web Searches}.
2516 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2517 to a particular group by using a match string like
2518 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2521 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2522 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2523 This function will delete the current group
2524 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2525 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2526 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2527 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2528 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2532 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2533 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2534 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2538 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2539 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2540 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2543 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2546 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2547 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2548 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2549 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2550 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2551 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2555 @node Group Parameters
2556 @section Group Parameters
2557 @cindex group parameters
2559 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2560 Here's an example group parameter list:
2563 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2567 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2568 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2569 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2570 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2572 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2573 is an alist of regexps and values.
2575 The following group parameters can be used:
2580 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2583 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2586 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2587 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2588 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2589 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2590 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2592 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2593 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2594 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2595 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2596 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2597 list address instead.
2599 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2603 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2606 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2609 It is totally ignored
2610 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2611 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2613 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2614 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2615 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2616 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2617 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2619 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2620 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2621 sending the message.
2623 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2624 @cindex Mail List Groups
2625 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2626 entering summary buffer.
2628 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2632 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2633 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2634 of whether it has any unread articles.
2636 @item broken-reply-to
2637 @cindex broken-reply-to
2638 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2639 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2640 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2641 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2642 broken behavior. So there!
2646 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2647 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2651 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2652 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2653 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2658 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2659 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2660 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2661 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2662 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2663 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2664 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2668 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2669 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2670 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2672 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2675 @cindex total-expire
2676 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2677 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2678 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2679 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2682 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2686 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2687 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2688 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2689 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2690 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2691 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2694 @cindex score file group parameter
2695 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2696 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2697 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2700 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2701 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2702 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2703 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2706 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2707 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2708 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2709 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2712 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2713 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2717 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2720 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2724 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2726 Here are some examples:
2730 Display only unread articles.
2733 Display everything except expirable articles.
2735 @item [and (not reply) (not expirable)]
2736 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2740 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2741 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2742 @code{unread}, @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{}, @code{}, @code{},
2743 @code{expire}, @code{reply}, @code{killed}, @code{bookmark},
2744 @code{score}, @code{save}, @code{cache}, @code{forward}, and
2751 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2752 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2753 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2757 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2758 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2759 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2761 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2763 @item ignored-charsets
2764 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-known iso-8859-1)}
2765 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2766 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2768 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2771 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2772 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2773 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2774 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2775 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2777 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2778 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2779 like this in the group parameters:
2784 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2789 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2790 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2793 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2794 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2795 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2796 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2797 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2799 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2800 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2801 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2802 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2803 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2804 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2805 @code{eval}ed there.
2807 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2808 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2809 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2810 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2811 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2815 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2816 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2817 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2818 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2819 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2821 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2822 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2826 (setq gnus-parameters
2828 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2829 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2830 (gnus-summary-line-format
2831 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2835 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2839 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2843 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2846 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2847 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2850 @node Listing Groups
2851 @section Listing Groups
2852 @cindex group listing
2854 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2862 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2863 List all groups that have unread articles
2864 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2865 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2866 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2867 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2874 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2875 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2876 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2877 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2878 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2879 unsubscribed groups).
2883 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2884 List all unread groups on a specific level
2885 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2886 with no unread articles.
2890 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2891 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2892 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2893 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2898 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2899 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2903 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2904 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2905 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2909 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2910 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2914 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2915 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2916 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2917 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2918 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2919 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2920 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2921 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2925 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2926 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2927 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2931 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2932 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2933 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2937 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2938 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2942 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2943 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2947 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2948 List groups limited within the current selection
2949 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2953 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2954 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2958 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2959 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2963 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2964 @cindex visible group parameter
2965 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2966 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2967 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2968 get the same effect.
2970 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2971 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2972 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2973 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2974 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2977 @node Sorting Groups
2978 @section Sorting Groups
2979 @cindex sorting groups
2981 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2982 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2983 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2984 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2985 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2986 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2991 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2992 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2993 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2995 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2996 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2997 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2999 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3000 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3001 Sort by group level.
3003 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3004 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3005 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3007 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3008 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3009 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3010 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3012 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3013 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3014 Sort by number of unread articles.
3016 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3017 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3018 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3020 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3021 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3022 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3027 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3028 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3032 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3033 some sorting criteria:
3037 @kindex G S a (Group)
3038 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3039 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3040 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3043 @kindex G S u (Group)
3044 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3045 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3046 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3049 @kindex G S l (Group)
3050 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3051 Sort the group buffer by group level
3052 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3055 @kindex G S v (Group)
3056 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3057 Sort the group buffer by group score
3058 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3061 @kindex G S r (Group)
3062 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3063 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3064 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3067 @kindex G S m (Group)
3068 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3069 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
3070 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3074 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3075 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3077 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3078 commands will sort in reverse order.
3080 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3084 @kindex G P a (Group)
3085 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3086 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3087 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3090 @kindex G P u (Group)
3091 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3092 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3093 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3096 @kindex G P l (Group)
3097 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3098 Sort the groups by group level
3099 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3102 @kindex G P v (Group)
3103 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3104 Sort the groups by group score
3105 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3108 @kindex G P r (Group)
3109 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3110 Sort the groups by group rank
3111 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3114 @kindex G P m (Group)
3115 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3116 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
3117 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3121 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3125 @node Group Maintenance
3126 @section Group Maintenance
3127 @cindex bogus groups
3132 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3133 Find bogus groups and delete them
3134 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3138 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3139 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3140 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3141 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3142 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3146 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3147 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3148 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3149 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3150 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3151 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3154 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3155 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3156 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3157 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3162 @node Browse Foreign Server
3163 @section Browse Foreign Server
3164 @cindex foreign servers
3165 @cindex browsing servers
3170 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3171 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3172 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3173 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3176 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3177 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3178 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3179 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3181 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3186 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3187 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3191 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3192 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3195 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3196 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3197 Enter the current group and display the first article
3198 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3201 @kindex RET (Browse)
3202 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3203 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3207 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3208 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3209 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3215 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3216 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3220 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3221 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3222 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3227 @section Exiting Gnus
3228 @cindex exiting Gnus
3230 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3235 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3236 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3237 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3238 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3242 @findex gnus-group-exit
3243 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3244 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3248 @findex gnus-group-quit
3249 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3250 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3253 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3254 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3255 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3256 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3257 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3262 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3263 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3264 trying to customize meta-variables.
3269 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3270 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3271 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3277 @section Group Topics
3280 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3281 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3282 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3283 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3284 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3285 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3289 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3290 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3301 2: alt.religion.emacs
3304 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3306 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3307 13: comp.sources.unix
3310 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3312 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3313 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3314 is a toggling command.)
3316 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3317 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3318 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3319 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3322 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3323 the hook for the group mode:
3326 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3330 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3331 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3332 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3333 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3334 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3338 @node Topic Variables
3339 @subsection Topic Variables
3340 @cindex topic variables
3342 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3343 really neat, I think.
3345 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3346 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3347 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3360 Number of groups in the topic.
3362 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3364 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3367 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3368 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3369 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3372 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3373 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3375 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3376 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3377 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3380 @node Topic Commands
3381 @subsection Topic Commands
3382 @cindex topic commands
3384 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3385 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3386 definitions slightly.
3392 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3393 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3394 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3398 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3399 Move the current group to some other topic
3400 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3401 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3405 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3406 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3410 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3411 Copy the current group to some other topic
3412 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3413 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3417 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3418 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3419 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3423 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3424 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3425 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3429 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3430 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3431 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3432 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3433 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3434 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3435 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3438 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3439 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3443 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3444 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3445 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3449 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3450 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3451 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3455 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3456 Toggle hiding empty topics
3457 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3461 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3462 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3463 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3466 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3467 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3468 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3469 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3473 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3475 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3476 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3477 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3478 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3481 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3482 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3483 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3484 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3488 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3490 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3491 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3492 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3493 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3494 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3495 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3498 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3499 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3500 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3501 expiry process (if any)
3502 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3506 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3507 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3508 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3512 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3513 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3514 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3519 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3520 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3523 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3524 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3525 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3529 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3530 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3531 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3535 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3536 @cindex group parameters
3537 @cindex topic parameters
3539 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3540 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3546 @subsection Topic Sorting
3547 @cindex topic sorting
3549 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3555 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3556 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3557 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3558 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3561 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3562 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3563 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3564 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3567 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3568 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3569 Sort the current topic by group level
3570 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3573 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3574 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3575 Sort the current topic by group score
3576 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3579 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3580 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3581 Sort the current topic by group rank
3582 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3585 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3586 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3587 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3588 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3592 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3595 @node Topic Topology
3596 @subsection Topic Topology
3597 @cindex topic topology
3600 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3606 2: alt.religion.emacs
3609 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3611 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3612 13: comp.sources.unix
3615 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3616 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3617 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3622 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3623 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3627 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3628 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3629 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3630 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3631 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3632 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3634 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3635 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3636 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3639 @node Topic Parameters
3640 @subsection Topic Parameters
3641 @cindex topic parameters
3643 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3644 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3645 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3647 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3652 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3653 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3654 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3659 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3660 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3661 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3662 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3668 2: alt.religion.emacs
3672 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3674 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3675 13: comp.sources.unix
3679 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3680 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3681 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3682 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3683 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3684 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3686 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3687 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3688 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3689 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3690 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3692 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3693 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3694 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3695 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3696 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3697 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3698 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3699 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3702 @node Misc Group Stuff
3703 @section Misc Group Stuff
3706 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3707 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3708 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3709 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3716 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3717 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3718 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3722 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3723 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3724 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3728 @findex gnus-group-mail
3729 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3733 Variables for the group buffer:
3737 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3738 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3739 is called after the group buffer has been
3742 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3743 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3744 is called after the group buffer is
3745 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3748 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3749 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3750 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3751 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3753 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3754 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3755 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3756 whether they are empty or not.
3758 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3759 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3760 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3761 non-ASCII group names.
3765 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3766 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3769 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3770 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3771 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3772 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3776 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3777 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3782 @node Scanning New Messages
3783 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3784 @cindex new messages
3785 @cindex scanning new news
3791 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3792 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3793 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3794 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3795 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3796 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3801 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3802 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3803 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3804 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3805 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3806 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3807 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3809 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3810 @cindex activating groups
3812 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3813 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3818 @findex gnus-group-restart
3819 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3820 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3821 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3825 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3826 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3828 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3829 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3833 @node Group Information
3834 @subsection Group Information
3835 @cindex group information
3836 @cindex information on groups
3843 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3844 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3847 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3848 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3849 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3850 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3851 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3852 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3853 for fetching the file.
3855 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3856 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3860 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3862 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3863 @cindex describing groups
3864 @cindex group description
3865 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3866 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3867 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3871 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3872 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3873 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3880 @findex gnus-version
3881 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3885 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3886 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3889 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3892 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3893 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3897 @node Group Timestamp
3898 @subsection Group Timestamp
3900 @cindex group timestamps
3902 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3903 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3904 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3907 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3910 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3912 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3913 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3916 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3917 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3920 This will result in lines looking like:
3923 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3924 0: custom 19961002T012713
3927 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3928 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3932 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3933 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3938 @subsection File Commands
3939 @cindex file commands
3945 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3946 @vindex gnus-init-file
3947 @cindex reading init file
3948 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3949 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3953 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3954 @cindex saving .newsrc
3955 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3956 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3957 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3960 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3961 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3962 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3967 @node Summary Buffer
3968 @chapter Summary Buffer
3969 @cindex summary buffer
3971 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3972 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3974 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3975 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3977 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3980 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3981 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3982 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3983 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3984 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3985 * Delayed Articles::
3986 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3987 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3988 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3989 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3990 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3991 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3992 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3993 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3994 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3995 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3996 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3997 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3998 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3999 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4000 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4001 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4002 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4003 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4004 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4005 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4006 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4007 or reselecting the current group.
4008 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4009 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4010 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4011 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4015 @node Summary Buffer Format
4016 @section Summary Buffer Format
4017 @cindex summary buffer format
4021 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4022 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4023 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4029 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4030 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4031 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4032 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4035 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4036 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4037 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4038 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4039 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4040 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4041 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4042 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4043 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4044 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4045 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4048 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4049 'mail-extract-address-components)
4052 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4053 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4054 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4055 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4058 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4059 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4061 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4062 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4063 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4064 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4065 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4067 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4068 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4069 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4070 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4071 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4073 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4075 The following format specification characters are understood:
4081 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4082 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4084 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4085 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4086 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4088 Full @code{From} header.
4090 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4092 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4093 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4095 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4096 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4097 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4098 may be more thorough.
4100 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4103 Number of lines in the article.
4105 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
4106 methods (like nnfolder).
4108 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4110 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace lines.
4112 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4113 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4115 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4116 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4118 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4119 for adopted articles.
4121 One space for each thread level.
4123 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4128 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4129 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4133 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4135 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4136 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4137 default level. If the difference between
4138 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4139 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4147 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4149 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4155 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4156 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4158 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4159 article has any children.
4165 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4166 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4167 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4168 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4169 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4170 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4173 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4174 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4175 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4176 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4177 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4178 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4180 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4181 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4183 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4186 @node To From Newsgroups
4187 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4191 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4192 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4193 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4194 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4195 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4199 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4200 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4201 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4205 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4206 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4209 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4210 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4213 @findex gnus-extra-header
4214 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4215 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4216 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4219 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4223 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4224 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4225 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4226 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4227 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4228 headers are used instead.
4232 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4233 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4234 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4235 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4238 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4239 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4240 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4241 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4243 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4247 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4249 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4250 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4251 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4252 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4256 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4257 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4264 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4265 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4268 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4269 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4271 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4272 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4273 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4274 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4276 Here are the elements you can play with:
4282 Unprefixed group name.
4284 Current article number.
4286 Current article score.
4290 Number of unread articles in this group.
4292 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4295 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4296 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4297 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4298 and no unselected ones.
4300 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4301 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4303 Subject of the current article.
4305 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4307 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4309 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4311 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4313 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4315 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4319 @node Summary Highlighting
4320 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4324 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4325 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4326 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4327 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4328 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4330 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4331 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4332 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4333 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4335 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4336 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4337 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4338 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4340 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4341 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4342 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4343 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4344 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4345 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4348 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4349 ((> score default) . bold))
4351 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4352 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4356 @node Summary Maneuvering
4357 @section Summary Maneuvering
4358 @cindex summary movement
4360 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4361 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4363 None of these commands select articles.
4368 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4369 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4370 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4371 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4372 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4376 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4377 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4379 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4380 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4383 @kindex G g (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4385 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4386 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4389 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4390 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4391 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4392 to the group buffer.
4394 Variables related to summary movement:
4398 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4399 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4400 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4401 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4402 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4403 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4404 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4405 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4406 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4407 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4408 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4409 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4410 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4411 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4413 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4414 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4415 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4416 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4417 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4418 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4419 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4421 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4423 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4424 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4425 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4426 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4427 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4429 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4430 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4431 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4432 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4433 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4434 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4435 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4436 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4439 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4440 the given number of lines from the top.
4445 @node Choosing Articles
4446 @section Choosing Articles
4447 @cindex selecting articles
4450 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4451 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4455 @node Choosing Commands
4456 @subsection Choosing Commands
4458 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4459 and they all select and display an article.
4461 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4462 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4466 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4467 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4468 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4469 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4474 @kindex G n (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4476 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4477 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4482 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4483 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4484 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4489 @kindex G N (Summary)
4490 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4491 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4496 @kindex G P (Summary)
4497 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4498 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4501 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4502 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4503 Go to the next article with the same subject
4504 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4507 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4509 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4510 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4514 @kindex G f (Summary)
4516 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4517 Go to the first unread article
4518 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4522 @kindex G b (Summary)
4524 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4525 Go to the article with the highest score
4526 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4531 @kindex G l (Summary)
4532 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4533 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4536 @kindex G o (Summary)
4537 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4539 @cindex article history
4540 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4541 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4542 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4543 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4544 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4545 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4550 @kindex G j (Summary)
4551 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4552 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4553 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4558 @node Choosing Variables
4559 @subsection Choosing Variables
4561 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4564 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4565 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4566 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4567 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4568 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4569 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4571 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4572 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4573 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4574 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4576 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4577 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4578 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4579 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4580 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4581 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4582 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4583 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4584 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4585 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4586 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4587 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4588 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4589 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4594 @node Paging the Article
4595 @section Scrolling the Article
4596 @cindex article scrolling
4601 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4602 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4603 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4604 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4605 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4608 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4609 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4610 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4613 @kindex RET (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4615 Scroll the current article one line forward
4616 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4619 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4620 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4621 Scroll the current article one line backward
4622 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4626 @kindex A g (Summary)
4628 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4629 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4630 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4631 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4632 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4633 the way it came from the server.
4635 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4636 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4637 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4640 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4645 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4650 @kindex A < (Summary)
4651 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4652 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4653 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4658 @kindex A > (Summary)
4659 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4660 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4664 @kindex A s (Summary)
4666 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4667 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4668 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4672 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4673 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4678 @node Reply Followup and Post
4679 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4682 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4683 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4684 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4685 * Canceling and Superseding::
4689 @node Summary Mail Commands
4690 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4692 @cindex composing mail
4694 Commands for composing a mail message:
4700 @kindex S r (Summary)
4702 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4703 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4704 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4705 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4706 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4711 @kindex S R (Summary)
4712 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4713 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4714 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4715 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4716 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4719 @kindex S w (Summary)
4720 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4721 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4722 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4723 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4724 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4727 @kindex S W (Summary)
4728 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4729 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4730 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4731 the process/prefix convention.
4734 @kindex S v (Summary)
4735 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4736 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4737 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4738 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4739 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4740 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4744 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4745 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4746 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4747 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4748 Forward the current article to some other person
4749 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4750 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4751 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4752 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4753 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4754 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4755 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4756 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4757 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4762 @kindex S m (Summary)
4763 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4764 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4765 Send a mail to some other person
4766 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4769 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4770 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4771 @cindex bouncing mail
4772 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4773 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4774 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4775 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4776 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4777 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4778 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4779 very well fail, though.
4782 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4783 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4784 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4785 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4786 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4787 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4788 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4789 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4790 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4791 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4793 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4794 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4795 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4796 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4797 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4799 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4800 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4803 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4804 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4805 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4806 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4807 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4810 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4811 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4812 @cindex crossposting
4813 @cindex excessive crossposting
4814 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4815 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4817 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4818 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4819 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4820 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4821 command understands the process/prefix convention
4822 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4826 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4829 @node Summary Post Commands
4830 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4832 @cindex composing news
4834 Commands for posting a news article:
4840 @kindex S p (Summary)
4841 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4842 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4843 Post an article to the current group
4844 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4849 @kindex S f (Summary)
4850 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4851 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4852 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4856 @kindex S F (Summary)
4858 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4859 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4860 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4861 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4862 process/prefix convention.
4865 @kindex S n (Summary)
4866 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4867 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4868 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4871 @kindex S N (Summary)
4872 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4873 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4874 message through mail and include the original message
4875 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4876 the process/prefix convention.
4879 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4881 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4882 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4883 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4884 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4885 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4886 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4887 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4888 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4889 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4890 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4891 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4894 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4895 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4897 @cindex making digests
4898 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4899 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4900 process/prefix convention.
4903 @kindex S u (Summary)
4904 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4905 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4906 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4907 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4910 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4913 @node Summary Message Commands
4914 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4918 @kindex S y (Summary)
4919 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4920 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4921 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4922 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4923 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4928 @node Canceling and Superseding
4929 @subsection Canceling Articles
4930 @cindex canceling articles
4931 @cindex superseding articles
4933 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4934 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4936 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4938 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4940 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4941 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4942 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4943 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4944 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4945 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4947 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4948 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4951 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4952 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4953 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4955 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4956 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4957 your original article.
4959 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4961 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4962 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4963 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4966 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4967 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4968 have posted almost the same article twice.
4970 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4971 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4972 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4973 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4974 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4975 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4976 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4977 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4978 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4979 canceled/superseded.
4981 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4983 @node Delayed Articles
4984 @section Delayed Articles
4985 @cindex delayed sending
4986 @cindex send delayed
4988 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
4989 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
4990 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
4991 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
4994 (gnus-delay-initialize)
4997 @findex gnus-delay-article
4998 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
4999 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5000 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5001 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5005 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5006 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5007 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5008 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5011 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5012 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5013 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5016 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5017 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5018 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5019 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5020 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5021 that means a time tomorrow.
5024 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5025 couple of variables:
5028 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5029 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5030 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5031 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5033 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5034 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5035 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5036 formats described above.
5038 @item gnus-delay-group
5039 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5040 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5041 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5042 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5044 @item gnus-delay-header
5045 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5046 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5047 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5048 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5051 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5052 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5053 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5054 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5055 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5057 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5058 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts}
5059 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5060 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5061 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5062 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} function.
5065 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5066 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5067 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5068 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-drafts} in
5069 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5070 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5071 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5072 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5074 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5075 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5076 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5077 forget to set that up :-)
5081 @node Marking Articles
5082 @section Marking Articles
5083 @cindex article marking
5084 @cindex article ticking
5087 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5089 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5090 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5091 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5093 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5096 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5097 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5098 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5102 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5106 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5107 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5108 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5112 @node Unread Articles
5113 @subsection Unread Articles
5115 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5120 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5121 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5123 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5124 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5125 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5126 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5127 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5128 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5129 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5132 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5133 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5135 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5136 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5137 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5138 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5142 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5143 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5145 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5150 @subsection Read Articles
5151 @cindex expirable mark
5153 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5158 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5159 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5160 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5163 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5164 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5167 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5168 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5169 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5172 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5173 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5176 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5177 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5180 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5181 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5184 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5185 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5188 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5189 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5192 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5193 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5196 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5197 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5201 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5202 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5203 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5207 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5208 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5210 One more special mark, though:
5214 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5215 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5217 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5218 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5219 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5220 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5226 @subsection Other Marks
5227 @cindex process mark
5230 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5236 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5237 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5238 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5239 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5240 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5243 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5244 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5245 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5246 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5248 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5249 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5250 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5252 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5253 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5254 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5255 backend doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5258 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5259 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5260 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5263 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5264 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5265 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5266 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5269 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5270 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5271 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5274 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5275 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5276 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5277 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5278 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5281 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5282 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5283 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5284 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5285 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5286 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5290 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5291 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5292 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5294 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5295 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5296 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5300 @subsection Setting Marks
5301 @cindex setting marks
5303 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5308 @kindex M c (Summary)
5309 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5311 @cindex mark as unread
5312 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5313 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5319 @kindex M t (Summary)
5320 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5321 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5322 @xref{Article Caching}.
5327 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5329 Mark the current article as dormant
5330 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5334 @kindex M d (Summary)
5336 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5337 Mark the current article as read
5338 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5342 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5343 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5344 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5349 @kindex M k (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5351 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5352 and then select the next unread article
5353 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5357 @kindex M K (Summary)
5358 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5360 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5361 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5364 @kindex M C (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5366 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5367 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5370 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5371 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5372 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5373 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5376 @kindex M H (Summary)
5377 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5378 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5379 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5382 @kindex M h (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5384 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5385 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5388 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5389 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5390 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5391 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5394 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5395 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5396 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5397 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5401 @kindex M e (Summary)
5403 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5404 Mark the current article as expirable
5405 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5408 @kindex M b (Summary)
5409 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5410 Set a bookmark in the current article
5411 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5414 @kindex M B (Summary)
5415 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5416 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5417 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5420 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5421 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5422 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5423 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5426 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5427 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5428 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5429 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5432 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5433 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5434 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5435 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5436 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5439 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5440 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5441 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5442 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5443 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5444 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5445 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5446 The default is @code{t}.
5449 @node Generic Marking Commands
5450 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5452 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5453 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5454 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5455 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5456 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5459 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5460 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5463 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5464 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5465 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5466 to list in this manual.
5468 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5469 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5470 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5471 article, you could say something like:
5474 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5475 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5476 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5482 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5483 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5487 @node Setting Process Marks
5488 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5489 @cindex setting process marks
5496 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5498 Mark the current article with the process mark
5499 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5500 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5504 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5505 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5506 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5507 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5510 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5511 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5512 Remove the process mark from all articles
5513 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5516 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5517 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5518 Invert the list of process marked articles
5519 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5522 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5523 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5524 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5525 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5528 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5529 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5530 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5531 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5534 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5535 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5536 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5539 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5540 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5541 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5542 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5545 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5546 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5547 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5548 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5551 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5552 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5553 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5554 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5557 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5558 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5559 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5562 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5563 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5564 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5565 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5568 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5569 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5570 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5573 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5574 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5575 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5576 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5579 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5580 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5581 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5582 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5585 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5586 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5587 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5588 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5591 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5592 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5593 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5594 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5598 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5599 set process marks based on article body contents.
5606 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5607 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5608 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5611 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5612 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5613 additional articles.
5619 @kindex / / (Summary)
5620 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5621 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5622 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5625 @kindex / a (Summary)
5626 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5627 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5628 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5631 @kindex / x (Summary)
5632 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5633 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5634 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5635 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5639 @kindex / u (Summary)
5641 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5642 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5643 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5644 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5645 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5648 @kindex / m (Summary)
5649 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5650 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5651 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5654 @kindex / t (Summary)
5655 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5656 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5657 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5658 articles younger than that number of days.
5661 @kindex / n (Summary)
5662 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5663 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5664 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5665 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5668 @kindex / w (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5670 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5671 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5675 @kindex / v (Summary)
5676 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5677 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5678 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5682 @kindex M S (Summary)
5683 @kindex / E (Summary)
5684 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5685 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5686 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5689 @kindex / D (Summary)
5690 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5691 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5692 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5695 @kindex / * (Summary)
5696 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5697 Include all cached articles in the limit
5698 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5701 @kindex / d (Summary)
5702 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5703 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5704 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5707 @kindex / M (Summary)
5708 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5709 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5712 @kindex / T (Summary)
5713 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5714 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5717 @kindex / c (Summary)
5718 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5719 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5720 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5723 @kindex / C (Summary)
5724 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5725 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5726 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5727 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5735 @cindex article threading
5737 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5738 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5739 hierarchical fashion.
5741 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5742 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5743 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5744 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5745 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5746 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5747 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5749 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5753 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5756 A tree-like article structure.
5759 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5762 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5763 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5764 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5765 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5766 called loose threads.
5768 @item thread gathering
5769 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5771 @item sparse threads
5772 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5773 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5779 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5780 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5784 @node Customizing Threading
5785 @subsection Customizing Threading
5786 @cindex customizing threading
5789 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5790 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5791 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5792 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5797 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5800 @cindex loose threads
5803 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5804 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5805 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5806 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5807 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5808 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5810 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5811 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5812 There are four possible values:
5816 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5817 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5818 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5819 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5820 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5825 @cindex adopting articles
5830 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5831 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5832 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5833 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5836 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5837 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5838 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5839 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5840 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5841 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5842 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5845 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5846 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5847 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5851 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5852 display them after one another.
5855 Don't gather loose threads.
5858 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5859 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5860 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5861 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5862 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5863 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5864 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5865 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5866 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5867 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5868 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5870 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5871 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5872 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5875 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5876 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5877 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5878 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5879 simplification is used.
5881 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5882 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5883 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5884 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5886 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5888 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5894 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5895 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5896 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5897 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5902 (mapconcat 'identity
5903 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5905 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5908 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5911 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5912 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5913 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5914 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5915 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5916 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5918 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5921 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5922 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5923 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5925 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5926 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5929 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5930 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5931 Remove excessive whitespace.
5934 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5937 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5938 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5939 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5940 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5941 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5942 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5943 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5944 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5946 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5947 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5948 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5949 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5950 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5951 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5952 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5953 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5954 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5958 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5959 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5960 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5961 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5963 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5964 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5965 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5968 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5972 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5973 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5979 @node Filling In Threads
5980 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5983 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5984 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5985 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5986 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5987 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5988 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5989 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5990 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5991 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5992 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5993 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5994 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5996 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5997 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5998 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6000 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6001 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6002 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6003 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6004 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6005 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6006 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6007 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6008 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6009 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6010 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6011 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6012 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6013 @code{nil} by default.
6015 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6016 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6017 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6018 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the backend has to fetch
6019 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6020 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6021 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6023 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6024 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6025 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6030 @node More Threading
6031 @subsubsection More Threading
6034 @item gnus-show-threads
6035 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6036 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6037 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6038 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6039 slower and more awkward.
6041 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6042 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6043 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6046 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6047 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6048 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6049 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6050 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6051 threads are expunged.
6053 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6054 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6055 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6058 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6059 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6060 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6061 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6062 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6063 result in a new thread.
6065 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6066 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6067 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6070 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6071 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6072 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6073 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6074 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6075 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6076 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6077 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6078 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6079 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6080 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6085 @node Low-Level Threading
6086 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6090 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6091 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6092 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6094 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6095 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6096 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6097 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6098 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6099 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6100 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6101 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6102 meaningful. Here's one example:
6105 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6107 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6108 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6110 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6112 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6119 @node Thread Commands
6120 @subsection Thread Commands
6121 @cindex thread commands
6127 @kindex T k (Summary)
6128 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
6129 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6130 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6131 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6132 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6137 @kindex T l (Summary)
6138 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
6139 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6140 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6144 @kindex T i (Summary)
6145 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6146 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6147 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6150 @kindex T # (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6152 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6153 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6156 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6158 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6159 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6162 @kindex T T (Summary)
6163 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6164 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6167 @kindex T s (Summary)
6168 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6169 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6170 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6173 @kindex T h (Summary)
6174 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6175 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6178 @kindex T S (Summary)
6179 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6180 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6183 @kindex T H (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6185 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6188 @kindex T t (Summary)
6189 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6190 Re-thread the current article's thread
6191 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6192 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6195 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6197 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6198 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6202 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6203 understand the numeric prefix.
6208 @kindex T n (Summary)
6210 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
6212 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6213 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6214 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6217 @kindex T p (Summary)
6219 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
6221 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6223 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6226 @kindex T d (Summary)
6227 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6228 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6231 @kindex T u (Summary)
6232 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6233 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6236 @kindex T o (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6238 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6241 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6242 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6243 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6244 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6245 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6246 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6247 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6248 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6249 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6250 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6251 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6252 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6256 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6257 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6259 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6260 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6261 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6262 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6263 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6264 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6265 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6266 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6267 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6268 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6269 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6271 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6272 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6273 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6274 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6275 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6277 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6278 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6279 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6281 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6282 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6283 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6284 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6285 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6286 ascending article order.
6288 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6289 by number, you could do something like:
6292 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6293 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6294 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6295 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6298 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6299 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6300 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6301 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6302 which the articles arrived.
6304 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6308 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6310 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6311 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6314 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6315 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6316 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6317 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6320 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6321 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6322 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6323 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6324 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6325 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6326 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6327 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6328 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6329 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6330 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6331 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6332 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6334 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6338 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6339 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6340 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6345 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6346 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6347 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6348 @cindex article pre-fetch
6351 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6352 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6353 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6354 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6355 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6357 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6358 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6360 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6361 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6362 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6363 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6364 connection is blocked.
6366 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6367 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6368 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6369 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6371 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6372 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6373 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6374 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6377 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6380 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6381 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6382 happen automatically.
6384 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6385 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6386 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6387 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6388 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6389 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6390 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6392 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6393 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6394 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6395 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6396 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6397 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6398 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6399 data structure as the only parameter.
6401 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6404 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6405 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6406 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6407 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6410 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6413 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6414 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6415 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6417 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6418 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6419 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6420 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6424 Remove articles when they are read.
6427 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6430 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6432 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6433 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6434 @c from the next group.
6437 @node Article Caching
6438 @section Article Caching
6439 @cindex article caching
6442 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6443 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6444 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6445 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6446 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6448 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6450 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6451 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6452 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6453 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6454 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6455 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6456 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6457 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6459 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6460 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6461 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6462 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6463 as dormant, and don't worry.
6465 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6467 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6468 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6469 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6470 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6471 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6472 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6473 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6474 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6475 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6476 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6478 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6479 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6480 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6481 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6482 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6483 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6484 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6485 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6486 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6487 not then be downloaded by this command.
6489 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6490 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6491 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6492 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6493 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6494 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6496 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6497 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6498 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6499 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6500 variables, the group is not cached.
6502 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6503 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6504 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6505 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6506 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6507 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6508 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6509 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6510 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6514 @node Persistent Articles
6515 @section Persistent Articles
6516 @cindex persistent articles
6518 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6519 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6520 useful in my opinion.
6522 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6523 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6524 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6525 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6526 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6527 the expiry going on at the news server.
6529 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6530 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6531 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6537 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6538 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6541 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6542 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6543 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6544 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6548 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6550 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6551 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6552 interested in persistent articles:
6555 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6559 @node Article Backlog
6560 @section Article Backlog
6562 @cindex article backlog
6564 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6565 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6566 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6567 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6568 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6569 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6570 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6571 increase memory usage some.
6573 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6574 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6575 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6576 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6577 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6578 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6579 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6581 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6584 @node Saving Articles
6585 @section Saving Articles
6586 @cindex saving articles
6588 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6589 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6590 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6591 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6592 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6594 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6595 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6596 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6598 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6599 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6600 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6601 deleted before saving.
6607 @kindex O o (Summary)
6609 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6610 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6611 Save the current article using the default article saver
6612 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6615 @kindex O m (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6617 Save the current article in mail format
6618 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6621 @kindex O r (Summary)
6622 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6623 Save the current article in rmail format
6624 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6627 @kindex O f (Summary)
6628 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6629 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6630 Save the current article in plain file format
6631 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6634 @kindex O F (Summary)
6635 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6636 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6637 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6640 @kindex O b (Summary)
6641 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6642 Save the current article body in plain file format
6643 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6646 @kindex O h (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6648 Save the current article in mh folder format
6649 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6652 @kindex O v (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6654 Save the current article in a VM folder
6655 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6659 @kindex O p (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6662 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6663 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6666 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6667 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6668 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6669 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6670 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6671 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6672 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6673 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6674 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6675 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6676 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6677 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6681 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6682 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6683 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6684 functions below, or you can create your own.
6688 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6689 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6690 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6691 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6692 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6693 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6694 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6696 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6697 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6698 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6699 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6700 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6701 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6703 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6704 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6705 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6706 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6707 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6708 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6709 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6711 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6712 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6713 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6714 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6715 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6717 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6718 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6719 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6720 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6721 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6724 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6725 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6726 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6727 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6728 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6730 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6731 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6732 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6733 reader to use this setting.
6736 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6737 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6738 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6739 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6742 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6743 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6744 available functions that generate names:
6748 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6749 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6750 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6752 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6753 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6754 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6756 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6757 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6758 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6760 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6761 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6762 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6764 @item gnus-sender-save-name
6765 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
6766 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
6769 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6770 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6771 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6772 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6773 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6777 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6778 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6779 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6780 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6783 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6784 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6785 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6786 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6787 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6788 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6789 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6790 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6791 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6793 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6794 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6795 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6796 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6798 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6799 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6800 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6803 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6804 lots of mail groups called things like
6805 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6806 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6807 following will do just that:
6810 (defun my-save-name (group)
6811 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6812 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6814 (setq gnus-split-methods
6815 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6820 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6821 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6822 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6823 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6824 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6825 all the files in the top level directory
6826 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6827 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6828 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6829 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6831 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6832 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6833 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6834 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6835 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6838 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6842 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6843 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
6844 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6847 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6848 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6849 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6850 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6853 @node Decoding Articles
6854 @section Decoding Articles
6855 @cindex decoding articles
6857 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6858 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6861 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6862 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6863 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6864 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6865 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6866 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6870 @cindex article series
6871 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6872 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6873 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6874 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6875 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6877 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6878 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6879 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6881 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6882 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6883 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6885 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6886 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6887 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6890 @node Uuencoded Articles
6891 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6893 @cindex uuencoded articles
6898 @kindex X u (Summary)
6899 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6900 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6901 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6904 @kindex X U (Summary)
6905 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6906 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6907 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6910 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6911 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6912 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6915 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6916 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6917 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6918 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6922 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6923 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6924 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6925 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6926 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6928 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6929 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6930 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6931 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6934 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6935 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6936 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6937 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6938 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6939 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6943 @node Shell Archives
6944 @subsection Shell Archives
6946 @cindex shell archives
6947 @cindex shared articles
6949 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6950 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6951 some commands to deal with these:
6956 @kindex X s (Summary)
6957 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6958 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6961 @kindex X S (Summary)
6962 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6963 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6966 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6967 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6968 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6971 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6972 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6973 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6974 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6978 @node PostScript Files
6979 @subsection PostScript Files
6985 @kindex X p (Summary)
6986 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6987 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6990 @kindex X P (Summary)
6991 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6992 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6993 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6996 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6997 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6998 View the current PostScript series
6999 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7002 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7003 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7004 View and save the current PostScript series
7005 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7010 @subsection Other Files
7014 @kindex X o (Summary)
7015 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7016 Save the current series
7017 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7020 @kindex X b (Summary)
7021 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7022 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7023 doesn't really work yet.
7027 @node Decoding Variables
7028 @subsection Decoding Variables
7030 Adjective, not verb.
7033 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7034 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7035 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7039 @node Rule Variables
7040 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7041 @cindex rule variables
7043 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7044 variables are of the form
7047 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7054 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7055 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7057 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7058 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7061 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7062 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7065 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7066 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7067 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7068 user and default view rules.
7070 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7071 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7072 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7077 @node Other Decode Variables
7078 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7081 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7083 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7084 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7085 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7086 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7087 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7091 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7092 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7095 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7096 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7097 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7100 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7101 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7102 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7103 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7104 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7107 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7108 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7109 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7111 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7112 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7113 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7114 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7115 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7118 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7119 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7120 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7122 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7123 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7124 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7125 looking for files to display.
7127 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7128 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7129 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7132 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7133 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7134 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7137 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7138 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7139 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7142 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7143 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7144 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7147 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7148 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7149 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7150 decoded articles as unread.
7152 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7153 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7154 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7155 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7157 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7158 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7159 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7161 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7162 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7164 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7165 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7166 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7167 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7169 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7170 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7171 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7172 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7173 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7174 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7175 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7176 simply dropped them.
7181 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7182 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7186 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7187 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7188 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7189 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7190 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7191 for you when you post the article.
7193 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7194 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7195 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7196 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7198 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7199 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7200 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7201 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7202 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7203 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7204 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7206 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7207 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7208 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7209 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7210 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7211 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7212 Default is @code{t}.
7218 @subsection Viewing Files
7219 @cindex viewing files
7220 @cindex pseudo-articles
7222 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7223 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7224 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7225 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7226 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7227 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7228 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7230 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7231 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7232 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7233 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7235 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7236 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7237 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7239 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7240 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7241 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7242 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7243 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7245 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7246 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7247 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7248 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7249 a list of parameters to that command.
7251 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7252 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7253 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7255 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7256 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7257 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7260 @node Article Treatment
7261 @section Article Treatment
7263 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7264 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7265 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7266 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7267 these articles easier.
7270 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7271 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7272 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7273 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7274 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7275 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7276 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7277 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7281 @node Article Highlighting
7282 @subsection Article Highlighting
7283 @cindex highlighting
7285 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7286 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7291 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7292 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7293 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7294 Do much highlighting of the current article
7295 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7296 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7299 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7300 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7301 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7302 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7303 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7304 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7305 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7306 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7307 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7308 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7309 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7310 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7313 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7314 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7315 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7317 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7320 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7322 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7323 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7324 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7326 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7327 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7328 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7330 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7331 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7332 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7333 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7334 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7335 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7337 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7338 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7339 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7341 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7342 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7343 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7345 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7346 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7347 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7348 that it's a citation.
7350 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7351 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7352 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7354 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7355 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7356 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7358 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7359 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7360 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7361 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7367 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7368 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7369 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7370 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7371 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7372 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7373 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7374 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7379 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7382 @node Article Fontisizing
7383 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7385 @cindex article emphasis
7387 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7388 @kindex W e (Summary)
7389 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7390 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7391 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7392 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7394 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7395 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7396 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7397 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7398 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7399 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7400 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7401 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7405 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7406 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7407 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7416 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7417 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7418 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7419 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7420 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7421 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7422 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7423 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7424 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7425 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7426 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7427 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7428 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7430 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7431 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7432 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7436 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7439 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7441 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7442 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7443 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7444 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7446 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7449 @node Article Hiding
7450 @subsection Article Hiding
7451 @cindex article hiding
7453 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7454 too much cruft in most articles.
7459 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-article-hide
7461 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7462 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7463 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7466 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7467 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7468 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7472 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7473 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7474 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7475 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7478 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7479 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7480 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7484 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7485 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7486 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7487 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7488 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7489 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7490 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7491 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7495 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7496 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7497 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7498 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7503 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7504 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7505 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7506 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7507 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7508 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7509 articles that have signatures in them do:
7511 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7513 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7515 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7516 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7518 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7521 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7526 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7528 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7529 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7532 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7533 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7536 @cindex stripping advertisements
7537 @cindex advertisements
7538 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7539 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7540 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7541 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7542 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7543 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7544 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7545 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7546 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7547 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7551 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7552 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7553 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7554 customizing the hiding:
7558 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7559 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7560 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7561 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7562 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7563 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7564 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7569 Starting point of the hidden text.
7571 Ending point of the hidden text.
7573 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7575 Number of lines of hidden text.
7578 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7579 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7580 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7581 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7582 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7587 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7588 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7590 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7591 following two variables:
7594 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7595 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7596 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7597 50), hide the cited text.
7599 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7600 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7601 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7606 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7607 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7608 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7609 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7610 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7611 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7615 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7616 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7617 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7619 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7620 citation customization.
7622 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7626 @node Article Washing
7627 @subsection Article Washing
7629 @cindex article washing
7631 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7632 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7634 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7635 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7638 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7639 articles by default.
7644 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7645 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7649 @kindex W l (Summary)
7650 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7651 Remove page breaks from the current article
7652 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7656 @kindex W r (Summary)
7657 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7658 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7659 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7660 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7661 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7662 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7664 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7665 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7666 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7667 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7671 @kindex W t (Summary)
7673 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7674 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7675 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7678 @kindex W v (Summary)
7679 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7680 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7681 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7684 @kindex W o (Summary)
7685 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7686 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7689 @kindex W d (Summary)
7690 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7691 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7693 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7695 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7696 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7697 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7698 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7701 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7702 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7703 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7704 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7707 @kindex W w (Summary)
7708 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7709 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7711 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7715 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7716 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7717 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7720 @kindex W C (Summary)
7721 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7722 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7723 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7726 @kindex W c (Summary)
7727 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7728 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7729 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7730 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7731 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7734 @kindex W q (Summary)
7735 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7736 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7737 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7738 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7739 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7740 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7741 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7742 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7743 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7746 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7747 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7748 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7749 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7750 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7751 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7752 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7754 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7757 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7759 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7760 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7761 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7764 @kindex W h (Summary)
7765 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7766 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7767 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7768 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7770 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
7773 @kindex W f (Summary)
7775 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7776 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7777 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7778 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7785 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7786 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7787 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7788 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7789 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7790 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7791 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7792 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7793 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7794 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7795 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7796 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7797 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7798 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7799 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7800 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7801 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7802 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7803 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7804 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7808 @kindex W b (Summary)
7809 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7810 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7811 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7814 @kindex W B (Summary)
7815 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7816 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7817 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7820 @kindex W p (Summary)
7821 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
7822 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
7823 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
7824 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
7825 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
7826 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
7827 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
7830 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7831 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7832 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7833 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7836 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7837 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7838 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7839 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7842 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7843 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7844 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7845 lines with a single empty line.
7846 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7849 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7850 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7851 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7852 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7855 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7856 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7857 Do all the three commands above
7858 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7861 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7862 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7863 Remove all blank lines
7864 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7867 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7868 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7869 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7870 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7873 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7874 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7875 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7876 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7880 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7883 @node Article Buttons
7884 @subsection Article Buttons
7887 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7888 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7889 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7890 button on these references.
7892 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7893 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7894 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7899 @item gnus-button-alist
7900 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7901 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7904 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7910 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7911 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7912 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7915 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7916 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7917 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7920 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7921 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7922 avoid false matches.
7925 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7928 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7929 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7933 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7936 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7939 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7940 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7941 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7942 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7943 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7946 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7949 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7951 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7952 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7953 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7954 default values of the variables above.
7956 @item gnus-article-button-face
7957 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7958 Face used on buttons.
7960 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7961 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7962 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7966 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7970 @subsection Article Date
7972 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7973 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7974 when the article was sent.
7979 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7980 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7981 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7982 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7985 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7986 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7988 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7989 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7992 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7993 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7994 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7997 @kindex W T p (Summary)
7998 @findex gnus-article-date-english
7999 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8000 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8003 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8004 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8005 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8006 @findex format-time-string
8007 Display the date using a user-defined format
8008 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8009 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8010 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8011 for a list of possible format specs.
8014 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8015 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8016 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8017 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8018 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8019 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8022 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8025 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8026 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8029 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8030 into wonderful absurdities.
8032 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8035 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8038 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8039 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8043 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8044 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8045 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8046 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8047 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8048 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8049 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8053 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8054 preferred format automatically.
8057 @node Article Signature
8058 @subsection Article Signature
8060 @cindex article signature
8062 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8063 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8064 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8065 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8066 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8067 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8068 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8069 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8070 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8073 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8074 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8075 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8076 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8077 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8078 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8079 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8080 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8083 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8086 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8087 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8088 signature when displaying articles.
8092 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8095 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8098 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8099 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8101 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8102 in question is not a signature.
8105 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8106 listed above. Here's an example:
8109 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8110 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8113 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8114 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8115 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8116 signature after all.
8119 @node Article Miscellania
8120 @subsection Article Miscellania
8124 @kindex A t (Summary)
8125 @findex gnus-article-babel
8126 Translate the article from one language to another
8127 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8133 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8134 @cindex MIME decoding
8136 @cindex viewing attachments
8138 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8139 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8145 @kindex K v (Summary)
8146 View the @sc{mime} part.
8149 @kindex K o (Summary)
8150 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8153 @kindex K c (Summary)
8154 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8157 @kindex K e (Summary)
8158 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8161 @kindex K i (Summary)
8162 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8165 @kindex K | (Summary)
8166 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8169 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8174 @kindex K b (Summary)
8175 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8176 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8180 @kindex K m (Summary)
8181 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8182 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8183 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8184 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8185 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8188 @kindex X m (Summary)
8189 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8190 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8191 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8192 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8195 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8196 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8197 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8198 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8201 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8202 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8203 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8206 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8207 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8208 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8210 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8211 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8212 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8213 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8214 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8215 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8218 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8219 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8220 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8227 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8228 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8229 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8230 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8233 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8236 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8240 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8241 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8242 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8243 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8244 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
8246 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8247 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8248 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8249 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8250 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8251 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8252 save all jpegs into some directory).
8254 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8257 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8258 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8260 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8261 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8262 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8263 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8264 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8267 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8268 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8269 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8271 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8272 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8273 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8274 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8276 Ready-made functions include@*
8277 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8278 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8279 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8280 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8281 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8282 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8283 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8284 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8285 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8286 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8287 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8288 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8290 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8291 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8293 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8294 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8295 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8298 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8299 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8300 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8301 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8305 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8314 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8315 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8316 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8317 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8318 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8319 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8320 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8322 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8323 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8324 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8325 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8327 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8328 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
8329 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8330 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8331 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
8332 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8333 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
8334 something some agents insist on having in there.
8336 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8337 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8338 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8339 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8340 quoted-printable header encoding.
8342 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8343 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8344 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8348 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8351 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8352 means encode all charsets),
8354 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8355 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8356 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8363 @cindex coding system aliases
8364 @cindex preferred charset
8366 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8368 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8369 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8372 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8373 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8376 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8377 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8379 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8382 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8385 This will almost do the right thing.
8387 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8391 (codepage-setup 1251)
8392 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8396 @node Article Commands
8397 @section Article Commands
8404 @kindex A P (Summary)
8405 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8406 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8407 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8408 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8409 run just before printing the buffer.
8414 @node Summary Sorting
8415 @section Summary Sorting
8416 @cindex summary sorting
8418 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8419 can't really see why you'd want that.
8424 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8425 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8426 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8429 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8430 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8431 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8434 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8435 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8436 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8439 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8440 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8441 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8444 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8445 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8446 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8449 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8450 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8451 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8454 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8455 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8456 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8459 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8460 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8461 Sort using the default sorting method
8462 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8465 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8466 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8467 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8468 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8469 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8473 @node Finding the Parent
8474 @section Finding the Parent
8475 @cindex parent articles
8476 @cindex referring articles
8481 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8482 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8483 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8484 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8485 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8486 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8487 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8488 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8489 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8491 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8492 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8493 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8494 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8495 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8499 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8500 @kindex A R (Summary)
8501 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8502 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8505 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8506 @kindex A T (Summary)
8507 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8508 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8509 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8510 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8511 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8512 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8513 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8515 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8516 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8517 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8518 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8519 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8520 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8523 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8524 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8526 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8527 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8528 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8529 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8530 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8531 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8532 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8535 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8536 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8537 by giving this command a prefix.
8539 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8540 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8541 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8542 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8543 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8544 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8547 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8548 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8549 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8552 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8553 then ask Deja if that fails:
8556 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8558 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8561 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8562 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8563 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8564 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8565 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8566 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8569 @node Alternative Approaches
8570 @section Alternative Approaches
8572 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8573 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8576 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8577 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8582 @subsection Pick and Read
8583 @cindex pick and read
8585 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8586 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8587 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8588 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8590 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8591 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8592 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8593 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8594 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8595 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8597 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8602 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8603 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8604 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8605 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8606 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8607 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8608 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8609 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8612 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8613 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8614 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8615 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8619 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8620 Unpick the thread or article
8621 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8622 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8623 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8624 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8625 the thread or article at that line.
8629 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8630 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8631 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8632 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8633 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8634 will still be visible when you are reading.
8638 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8639 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8640 which is mapped to the same function
8641 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8643 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8646 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8649 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8650 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8652 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8653 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8654 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8656 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8657 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8658 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8659 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8660 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8661 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8662 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8666 @subsection Binary Groups
8667 @cindex binary groups
8669 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8670 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8671 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8672 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8673 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8674 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8675 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8678 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8679 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8680 command, when you have turned on this mode
8681 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8683 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8684 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8688 @section Tree Display
8691 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8692 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8693 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8694 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8697 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8700 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8701 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8702 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8704 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8705 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8706 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8707 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8708 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8710 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8711 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8712 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8713 default is @code{modeline}.
8715 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8716 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8717 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8718 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8719 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8720 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8721 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8727 The name of the poster.
8729 The @code{From} header.
8731 The number of the article.
8733 The opening bracket.
8735 The closing bracket.
8740 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8742 Variables related to the display are:
8745 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8746 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8747 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8748 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8749 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8750 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8752 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8753 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8754 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8755 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8759 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8760 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8761 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8762 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8763 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8764 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8765 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8766 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8767 other windows displayed next to it.
8769 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8770 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8771 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8772 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8773 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8774 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8775 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8779 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8782 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8792 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8796 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8797 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8799 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8801 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8806 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8807 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8808 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8811 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8812 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8813 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8814 (gnus-add-configuration
8818 (summary 0.75 point)
8823 @xref{Window Layout}.
8826 @node Mail Group Commands
8827 @section Mail Group Commands
8828 @cindex mail group commands
8830 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8831 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8833 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8834 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8839 @kindex B e (Summary)
8840 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8841 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
8842 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
8843 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
8844 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
8847 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8848 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8849 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8850 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8851 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8852 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8855 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8856 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8857 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8858 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8859 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8860 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8863 @kindex B m (Summary)
8865 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8866 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8867 Move the article from one mail group to another
8868 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8869 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8872 @kindex B c (Summary)
8874 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8875 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8876 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8877 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8878 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8881 @kindex B B (Summary)
8882 @cindex crosspost mail
8883 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8884 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8885 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8886 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8887 be properly updated.
8890 @kindex B i (Summary)
8891 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8892 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8893 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8894 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8897 @kindex B r (Summary)
8898 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8899 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8900 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8901 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8902 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8903 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8904 (which is the default).
8908 @kindex B w (Summary)
8910 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8911 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8912 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8913 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8914 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8915 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8918 @kindex B q (Summary)
8919 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8920 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8921 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8922 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8925 @kindex B t (Summary)
8926 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8927 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8928 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8931 @kindex B p (Summary)
8932 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8933 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8934 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8935 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8936 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8937 article from your news server (or rather, from
8938 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8939 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8940 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8941 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8942 just not have arrived yet.
8946 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8947 @cindex moving articles
8948 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8949 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8950 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8951 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8952 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
8953 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
8954 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
8957 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8958 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8959 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8960 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8964 @node Various Summary Stuff
8965 @section Various Summary Stuff
8968 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8969 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8970 * Summary Generation Commands::
8971 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8975 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8976 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8977 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8979 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8980 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8981 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8982 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8983 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8984 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8987 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8988 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8989 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8990 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8991 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8993 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8994 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8995 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8998 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8999 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9000 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9001 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9002 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9003 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9004 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9005 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9006 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9007 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9009 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9010 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9011 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9012 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9013 list of articles to be selected.
9015 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9016 the list in one particular group:
9019 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9020 (if (string= group "some.group")
9021 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9028 @node Summary Group Information
9029 @subsection Summary Group Information
9034 @kindex H f (Summary)
9035 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9036 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9037 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9038 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9039 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9040 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9041 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9042 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9043 be used for fetching the file.
9046 @kindex H d (Summary)
9047 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9048 Give a brief description of the current group
9049 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9050 rereading the description from the server.
9053 @kindex H h (Summary)
9054 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9055 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9056 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9059 @kindex H i (Summary)
9060 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9061 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9065 @node Searching for Articles
9066 @subsection Searching for Articles
9071 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9072 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9073 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9074 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9077 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9078 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9079 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9080 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9084 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9085 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9086 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9087 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9088 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9089 search backward instead.
9091 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9092 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9095 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9096 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9097 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9098 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9101 @node Summary Generation Commands
9102 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9107 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9108 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9109 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9112 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9113 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9114 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9115 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9120 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9121 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9127 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9128 @kindex A D (Summary)
9129 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9130 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9131 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9132 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9133 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9134 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9135 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9136 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9140 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
9141 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9142 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9143 several documents into one biiig group
9144 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9145 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9146 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9147 command understands the process/prefix convention
9148 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9151 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9152 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9153 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9154 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9155 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9156 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9160 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9161 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9162 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9165 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
9166 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9167 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9168 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9171 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
9172 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9173 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9174 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9179 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9180 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9181 @cindex summary exit
9182 @cindex exiting groups
9184 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9185 group and return you to the group buffer.
9191 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9193 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9194 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9195 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9196 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9197 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9198 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9199 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9200 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9201 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9202 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9203 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9207 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9209 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9210 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9211 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9215 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9217 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9218 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9219 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9220 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9223 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9224 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9225 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9226 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9229 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9230 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9231 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9232 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9235 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9236 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9237 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9238 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9239 all articles, both read and unread.
9243 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9244 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9245 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9246 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9247 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9248 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9249 articles, both read and unread.
9252 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9253 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9254 Exit the group and go to the next group
9255 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9258 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9259 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9260 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9261 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9264 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9265 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9266 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9267 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9268 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9269 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9272 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9273 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9274 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9275 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9277 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9278 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9279 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9280 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9281 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9282 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9283 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9284 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9285 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9286 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9287 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9288 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9290 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9292 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9293 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9294 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9295 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9296 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9297 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9298 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9299 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9300 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9303 @node Crosspost Handling
9304 @section Crosspost Handling
9308 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9309 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9310 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9311 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9312 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9313 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9316 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9317 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9318 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9319 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9320 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9322 @cindex cross-posting
9325 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9326 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9327 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9328 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9329 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9330 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9331 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9332 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9333 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9334 the cross reference mechanism.
9336 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9337 @cindex overview.fmt
9338 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9339 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9340 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9341 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9342 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9343 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9346 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9347 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9348 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9353 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9356 @node Duplicate Suppression
9357 @section Duplicate Suppression
9359 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9360 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9361 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9362 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9367 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9368 is evil and not very common.
9371 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9372 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9375 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9376 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9379 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9382 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9383 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9385 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9386 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9387 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9388 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9389 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9390 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9391 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9394 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9395 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9396 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9397 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9398 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9402 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9403 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9404 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9406 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9407 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9408 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9409 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9410 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9411 session are suppressed.
9413 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9414 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9415 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9416 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9418 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9419 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9420 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9421 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9424 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9425 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9426 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9427 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9428 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9429 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9430 to you to figure out, I think.
9435 Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
9440 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9446 @item mm-verify-option
9447 @vindex mm-verify-option
9448 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9449 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9450 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9452 @item mm-decrypt-option
9453 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9454 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9455 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9456 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9461 @section Mailing List
9463 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369.
9468 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9469 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9470 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9473 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9474 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9475 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9478 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9479 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9480 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9484 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9485 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9486 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9489 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9490 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9491 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9494 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9495 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9496 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9500 @node Article Buffer
9501 @chapter Article Buffer
9502 @cindex article buffer
9504 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9505 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9506 tell Gnus otherwise.
9509 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9510 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9511 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9512 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9513 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9517 @node Hiding Headers
9518 @section Hiding Headers
9519 @cindex hiding headers
9520 @cindex deleting headers
9522 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9523 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9525 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9526 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9527 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9528 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9529 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9530 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9531 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9532 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9533 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9535 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9539 @item gnus-visible-headers
9540 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9541 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9542 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9543 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9545 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9546 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9549 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9552 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9555 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9556 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9557 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9558 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9559 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9560 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9562 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9563 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9566 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9569 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9572 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9573 variable will have no effect.
9577 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9578 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9579 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9580 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9581 the headers are to be displayed.
9583 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9584 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9587 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9590 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9591 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9593 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9594 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9595 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9596 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9597 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9598 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9599 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9602 These conditions are:
9605 Remove all empty headers.
9607 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9608 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9610 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9613 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9616 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9617 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9619 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9622 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9624 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9627 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
9630 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9631 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9634 This is also the default value for this variable.
9638 @section Using @sc{mime}
9641 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9642 while people stand around yawning.
9644 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9645 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9647 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9648 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9649 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9651 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9652 @findex gnus-display-mime
9653 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9654 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9655 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9656 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9658 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9662 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9664 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9665 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9666 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9668 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9669 @item M-RET (Article)
9671 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9672 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9674 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9676 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9677 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9679 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
9681 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9682 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
9684 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9686 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9687 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9689 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
9691 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
9692 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
9693 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
9694 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
9695 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
9696 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
9698 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9700 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9701 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9703 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9705 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9706 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
9707 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
9708 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
9709 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
9712 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
9714 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
9715 viewer is available, use an external viewer
9716 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
9718 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
9720 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
9721 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
9723 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9725 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9727 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
9729 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
9730 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
9734 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9735 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9738 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9739 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9740 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9741 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9742 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9743 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9744 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9745 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9746 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9748 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9750 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9753 @node Customizing Articles
9754 @section Customizing Articles
9755 @cindex article customization
9757 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9758 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9759 called automatically when you select the articles.
9761 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9762 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9763 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9764 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9766 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9767 for sensible values.
9771 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9774 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9777 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9780 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9783 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9787 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9788 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9789 regexps in the list.
9792 A list where the first element is not a string:
9794 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9795 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9796 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9800 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9805 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9806 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9807 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9808 considered to contain just a single part.
9810 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9811 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9812 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9813 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9814 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9815 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9816 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9818 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9819 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9820 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9821 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9824 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9825 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9826 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9827 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9828 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9829 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9830 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9831 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9832 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9833 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9834 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9835 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9836 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
9837 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9838 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9839 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9840 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9841 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9842 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9843 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9844 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9845 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9846 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9847 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9848 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9849 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9850 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9851 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9852 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9853 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9854 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9855 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9856 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9857 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9858 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9859 @item gnus-treat-translate
9862 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9863 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9864 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9865 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9866 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9870 @node Article Keymap
9871 @section Article Keymap
9873 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9874 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9875 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9876 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9879 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9884 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9885 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9886 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9889 @kindex DEL (Article)
9890 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9891 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9894 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9895 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9896 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9897 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9898 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9901 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9902 @findex gnus-article-mail
9903 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9904 given a prefix, include the mail.
9908 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9909 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9910 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9914 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9915 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9916 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9919 @kindex TAB (Article)
9920 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9921 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9922 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9925 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9926 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9927 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9933 @section Misc Article
9937 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9938 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9939 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9940 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9943 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9944 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9946 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9947 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9949 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9950 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9951 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9952 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9953 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9954 the contents of the article buffer.
9956 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9957 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9958 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9960 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9961 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9962 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9963 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9965 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9966 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9967 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9968 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9969 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9974 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9975 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9978 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9981 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9983 @item gnus-break-pages
9984 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9985 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9986 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9987 paging will not be done.
9989 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9990 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9991 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9996 @node Composing Messages
9997 @chapter Composing Messages
9998 @cindex composing messages
10001 @cindex sending mail
10007 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10008 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10009 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10010 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10011 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10012 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10015 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10016 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10017 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10018 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10019 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10020 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10021 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10022 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10025 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10026 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10032 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10035 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10036 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10037 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10038 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10040 @item gnus-add-to-list
10041 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10042 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10043 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10048 @node Posting Server
10049 @section Posting Server
10051 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10052 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10054 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10056 @vindex gnus-post-method
10058 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10059 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10060 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10061 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10062 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10063 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10064 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10067 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10070 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10071 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10072 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10073 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10075 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10076 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10078 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10079 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10082 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10083 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
10086 @node Mail and Post
10087 @section Mail and Post
10089 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10093 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10094 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10095 @cindex mailing lists
10097 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10098 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10099 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10100 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10101 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10102 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10103 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10104 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10105 still a pain, though.
10109 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10110 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10111 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10114 @findex ispell-message
10116 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10119 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10120 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10123 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10127 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10128 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10130 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10133 Modify to suit your needs.
10136 @node Archived Messages
10137 @section Archived Messages
10138 @cindex archived messages
10139 @cindex sent messages
10141 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10142 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10143 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10144 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10147 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10148 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10149 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10152 (nnfolder "archive"
10153 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10154 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10155 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10156 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10159 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10160 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10161 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10162 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10165 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10166 '(nnfolder "archive"
10167 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10168 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10169 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10172 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10174 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10175 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10176 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10178 This variable can be used to do the following:
10182 Messages will be saved in that group.
10184 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10185 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10186 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10187 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10188 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10189 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10190 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10191 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10193 @item a list of strings
10194 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10195 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10196 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10198 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10203 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10205 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10208 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10210 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10213 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10215 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10216 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10217 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10218 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10221 More complex stuff:
10223 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10224 '((if (message-news-p)
10229 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10230 messages in one file per month:
10233 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10234 '((if (message-news-p)
10236 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10239 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10240 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10242 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10243 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10244 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10245 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10246 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10247 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10248 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10249 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10250 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10251 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10253 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10254 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10255 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10256 this will disable archiving.
10259 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10260 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10261 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10262 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10263 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10266 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10267 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10268 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10271 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10272 but the latter is the preferred method.
10274 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10275 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10276 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10281 @node Posting Styles
10282 @section Posting Styles
10283 @cindex posting styles
10286 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10288 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10289 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10290 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10293 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10294 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10295 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10296 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10297 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10302 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10303 (organization "What me?"))
10305 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10306 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10307 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10310 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10311 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10312 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10313 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10314 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10315 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10316 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10317 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10319 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10320 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10321 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10322 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10323 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10324 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10325 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10326 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10327 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10329 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10330 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10331 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10332 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10333 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10334 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10335 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10336 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10337 result is thrown away.
10339 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10340 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10341 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10342 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10343 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10344 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10346 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10347 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10348 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10350 @findex message-mail-p
10351 @findex message-news-p
10353 So here's a new example:
10356 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10358 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10360 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10361 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10363 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10364 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10365 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10367 (signature my-news-signature))
10368 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10369 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10370 ((posting-from-work-p)
10371 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10372 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10373 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10374 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10376 (From (save-excursion
10377 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10378 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10380 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10383 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10384 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10385 if you fill many roles.
10392 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10393 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10394 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10395 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10396 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10398 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10399 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10400 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10401 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10402 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10406 @vindex nndraft-directory
10407 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10408 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10409 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10410 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10411 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10412 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10414 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10415 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10418 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10419 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10420 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10421 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10422 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10423 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10424 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10425 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10426 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10427 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10428 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10429 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10430 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10431 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10433 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10434 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10435 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10437 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10438 @kindex D e (Draft)
10439 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10440 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10441 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10443 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10446 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10447 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10448 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10449 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10450 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10451 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10452 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10455 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10456 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10457 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10460 @node Rejected Articles
10461 @section Rejected Articles
10462 @cindex rejected articles
10464 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10465 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10466 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10467 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10469 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10470 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10471 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10472 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10473 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10475 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10476 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10477 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10483 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10484 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10485 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10487 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10488 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10492 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10493 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10496 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10497 to 700, for your own safety.
10499 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10500 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10504 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10507 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10508 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10511 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10514 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10515 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{C-c
10516 C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{C-c C-m c
10517 p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c C-m c s} to
10518 encrypt using S/MIME.
10520 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10521 you've typed it correctly.
10523 @node Select Methods
10524 @chapter Select Methods
10525 @cindex foreign groups
10526 @cindex select methods
10528 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10529 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10530 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10531 personal mail group.
10533 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10534 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10535 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10536 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10537 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10538 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10540 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10541 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10543 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10546 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10547 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10548 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10549 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10550 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10552 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10555 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10556 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10557 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10558 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10559 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10560 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10561 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10565 @node Server Buffer
10566 @section Server Buffer
10568 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10569 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10570 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10571 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10572 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10573 backend represents a virtual server.
10575 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10576 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10577 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10578 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10580 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10581 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10582 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10583 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10584 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10585 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10586 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10588 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10589 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10592 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10593 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10594 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10595 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10596 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10597 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10598 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10601 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10602 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10605 @node Server Buffer Format
10606 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10607 @cindex server buffer format
10609 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10610 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10611 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10612 variable, with some simple extensions:
10617 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10620 The name of this server.
10623 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10626 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10629 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10630 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10631 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10632 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10642 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10645 @node Server Commands
10646 @subsection Server Commands
10647 @cindex server commands
10653 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10654 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10658 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10659 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10662 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10663 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10664 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10668 @findex gnus-server-exit
10669 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10673 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10674 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10678 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10679 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10683 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10684 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10688 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10689 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10693 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10694 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10695 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10700 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10701 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10702 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10703 a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
10708 @node Example Methods
10709 @subsection Example Methods
10711 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10714 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10717 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10723 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10724 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10727 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10728 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10730 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10731 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10735 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10738 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10739 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10741 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10742 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10743 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10747 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10750 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10753 Here's the method for a public spool:
10757 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10758 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10764 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10765 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10766 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10767 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10768 should probably look something like this:
10772 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
10773 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
10774 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
10775 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10778 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10779 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
10780 configuration to the example above:
10783 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
10786 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
10787 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
10788 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
10792 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
10793 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
10794 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
10795 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
10798 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10799 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10800 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10801 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10804 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10805 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10807 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10808 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10810 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10811 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10812 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10814 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10816 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10817 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10818 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10819 will contain the following:
10829 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10830 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10831 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10834 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10835 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10836 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10839 @node Server Variables
10840 @subsection Server Variables
10842 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10843 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10844 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10845 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10846 won't change the "derived" variables.
10848 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10849 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10850 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10851 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10852 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10853 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10854 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10855 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10856 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10860 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10861 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10862 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10866 @node Servers and Methods
10867 @subsection Servers and Methods
10869 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10870 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10871 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10872 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10876 @node Unavailable Servers
10877 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10879 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10880 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10881 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10882 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10883 actually the case or not.
10885 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10886 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10887 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10888 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10889 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10890 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10891 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10892 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10894 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10895 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10897 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
10898 with the following commands:
10904 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10905 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10906 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10910 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10911 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10912 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10916 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10917 Mark the current server as unreachable
10918 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10921 @kindex M-o (Server)
10922 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10923 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10924 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10927 @kindex M-c (Server)
10928 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10929 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10930 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10934 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10935 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10936 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10942 @section Getting News
10943 @cindex reading news
10944 @cindex news backends
10946 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10947 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10948 or it can read from a local spool.
10951 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10952 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10957 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10960 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10961 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10962 server as the, uhm, address.
10964 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10965 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10966 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10967 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10969 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10970 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10971 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10973 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10978 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10979 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10980 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10982 @cindex authentification
10983 @cindex nntp authentification
10984 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10985 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10986 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10987 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10988 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10989 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10990 present in this hook.
10992 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10993 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10994 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10995 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10996 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10997 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10998 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10999 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11000 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11001 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11002 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11003 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11007 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11010 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11012 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11013 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11014 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11015 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11016 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11017 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11018 @samp{force} is explained below.
11022 Here's an example file:
11025 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11026 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11029 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11030 have to be first, for instance.
11032 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11033 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11034 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11035 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11036 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11037 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11038 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11040 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11041 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11047 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11048 previously mentioned.
11050 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11052 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11053 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11054 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11055 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11056 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11059 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11060 '(("innd" (ding))))
11063 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11065 The default value is
11068 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11069 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11070 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11073 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11074 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11076 @item nntp-maximum-request
11077 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11078 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
11079 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11080 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
11081 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11082 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11083 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
11085 @item nntp-connection-timeout
11086 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
11087 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
11088 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
11089 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
11090 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
11091 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
11092 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
11093 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
11094 no timeouts are done.
11096 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
11097 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
11098 @c @cindex PPP connections
11099 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
11100 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
11101 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
11102 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
11103 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
11104 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
11105 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
11106 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
11107 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
11108 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
11110 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
11111 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
11112 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
11113 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
11114 @c described above.
11116 @item nntp-server-hook
11117 @vindex nntp-server-hook
11118 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
11121 @item nntp-buggy-select
11122 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
11123 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
11125 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
11126 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
11127 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
11128 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
11131 @item nntp-xover-commands
11132 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
11135 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
11136 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
11140 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
11141 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
11142 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
11143 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
11144 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
11145 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
11146 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
11147 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
11148 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
11149 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
11150 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
11152 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
11153 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
11154 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
11156 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11157 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
11158 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
11159 server closes connection.
11161 @item nntp-record-commands
11162 @vindex nntp-record-commands
11163 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
11164 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
11165 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
11166 that doesn't seem to work.
11168 @item nntp-open-connection-function
11169 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
11170 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
11171 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
11172 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
11173 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
11174 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
11175 indirect ones (two pre-made).
11179 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
11180 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
11181 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
11185 @node Direct Functions
11186 @subsubsection Direct Functions
11187 @cindex direct connection functions
11189 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
11190 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
11191 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
11192 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11195 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
11196 @item nntp-open-network-stream
11197 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
11200 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
11201 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
11202 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
11203 you must have SSLay installed
11204 (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
11205 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
11206 define a server as follows:
11209 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
11211 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
11213 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
11214 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
11215 (nntp-port-number "snews")
11216 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
11219 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
11220 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
11221 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
11222 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
11223 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
11224 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
11225 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
11226 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
11230 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11231 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
11232 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
11235 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
11236 session, which is not a good idea.
11240 @node Indirect Functions
11241 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
11242 @cindex indirect connection functions
11244 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
11245 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
11246 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
11247 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
11248 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
11249 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
11252 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11253 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
11254 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
11255 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
11256 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
11258 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11261 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
11262 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
11263 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
11264 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
11267 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11268 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
11269 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
11270 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
11272 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
11275 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
11276 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
11277 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
11280 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
11281 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
11282 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
11283 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
11285 @item nntp-via-user-password
11286 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
11287 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
11289 @item nntp-via-envuser
11290 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
11291 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
11292 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
11293 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
11295 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
11296 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
11297 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
11298 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
11305 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
11310 @item nntp-via-user-name
11311 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
11312 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
11314 @item nntp-via-address
11315 @vindex nntp-via-address
11316 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
11321 @node Common Variables
11322 @subsubsection Common Variables
11324 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
11325 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
11330 @item nntp-pre-command
11331 @vindex nntp-pre-command
11332 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
11333 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
11334 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
11335 wrapper for instance.
11338 @vindex nntp-address
11339 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
11341 @item nntp-port-number
11342 @vindex nntp-port-number
11343 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
11345 @item nntp-end-of-line
11346 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
11347 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
11348 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
11349 using a non native connection function.
11351 @item nntp-telnet-command
11352 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
11353 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
11354 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
11355 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
11357 @item nntp-telnet-switches
11358 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
11359 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
11366 @subsection News Spool
11370 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
11371 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
11372 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
11375 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
11376 anything else) as the address.
11378 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
11379 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
11380 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
11381 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
11385 @item nnspool-inews-program
11386 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
11387 Program used to post an article.
11389 @item nnspool-inews-switches
11390 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
11391 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
11393 @item nnspool-spool-directory
11394 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
11395 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
11396 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
11398 @item nnspool-nov-directory
11399 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
11400 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
11401 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
11403 @item nnspool-lib-dir
11404 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
11405 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
11407 @item nnspool-active-file
11408 @vindex nnspool-active-file
11409 The path to the active file.
11411 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
11412 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
11413 The path to the group descriptions file.
11415 @item nnspool-history-file
11416 @vindex nnspool-history-file
11417 The path to the news history file.
11419 @item nnspool-active-times-file
11420 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
11421 The path to the active date file.
11423 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
11424 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
11425 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
11428 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11429 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
11431 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
11432 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
11433 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
11439 @section Getting Mail
11440 @cindex reading mail
11443 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
11447 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
11448 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
11449 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
11450 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
11451 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
11452 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
11453 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
11454 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
11455 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
11456 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
11457 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
11458 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
11459 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
11463 @node Mail in a Newsreader
11464 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
11466 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
11467 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
11468 of a culture shock.
11470 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
11471 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
11473 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
11474 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
11475 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
11476 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
11478 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
11480 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
11481 deleted? How awful!
11483 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
11484 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
11485 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
11486 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11489 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11490 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11491 they want to treat a message.
11493 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11494 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11495 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11496 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11497 archived somewhere else.
11499 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11500 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11501 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11502 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11503 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11505 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11506 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11507 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11509 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11510 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11513 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11514 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11515 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11516 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11517 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11519 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11520 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11521 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11522 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11523 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11524 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11528 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11529 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11531 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11532 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11533 and things will happen automatically.
11535 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11536 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11539 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11542 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
11543 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11544 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11545 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11546 like any other group.
11548 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11551 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11552 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11553 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11557 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11558 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11559 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11562 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11563 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11564 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11567 @node Splitting Mail
11568 @subsection Splitting Mail
11569 @cindex splitting mail
11570 @cindex mail splitting
11572 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11573 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11574 to be split into groups.
11577 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11578 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11579 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11580 ("mail.other" "")))
11583 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11584 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11585 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11586 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11587 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11588 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11589 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11592 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11595 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11596 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11597 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11598 mail belongs in that group.
11600 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11601 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11602 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11603 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11604 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11605 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11607 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11608 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11609 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11610 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11611 thinks should carry this mail message.
11613 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11614 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11615 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11616 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11618 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11619 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11620 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11621 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11622 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11624 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11627 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11628 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11629 links. If that's the case for you, set
11630 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11631 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11633 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11634 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11635 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11636 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11637 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11638 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11641 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11642 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11643 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11644 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11645 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11646 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11647 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11648 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11649 month's rent money.
11653 @subsection Mail Sources
11655 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11656 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11660 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11661 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11662 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11666 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11667 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11669 @cindex mail server
11672 @cindex mail source
11674 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11675 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11680 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11683 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11684 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11685 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11688 The following mail source types are available:
11692 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11698 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11699 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11702 An example file mail source:
11705 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11708 Or using the default path:
11714 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11715 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11716 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11719 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11723 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11726 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11730 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11733 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11735 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11738 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11742 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11743 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11744 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
11745 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
11746 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
11752 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11756 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11760 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11761 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11762 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11763 predicate are considered.
11767 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11771 An example directory mail source:
11774 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11779 Get mail from a POP server.
11785 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11786 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11789 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11790 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11791 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11792 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11793 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11796 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11800 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11804 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
11805 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11808 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11811 The valid format specifier characters are:
11815 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11816 included in this string.
11819 The name of the server.
11822 The port number of the server.
11825 The user name to use.
11828 The password to use.
11831 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11832 corresponding keywords.
11835 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11836 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11839 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11840 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11843 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11844 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11847 @item :authentication
11848 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11849 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11854 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11855 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11857 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11858 default user name, and default fetcher:
11864 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11867 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11868 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11871 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11874 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11878 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11879 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11880 contains exactly one mail.
11886 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11887 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11890 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11891 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11893 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11894 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11895 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11898 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11899 from locking problems).
11903 Two example maildir mail sources:
11906 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
11907 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11911 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
11916 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
11917 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
11918 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
11919 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
11926 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11927 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11930 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11931 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11934 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11938 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11942 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11943 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11944 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11946 @item :authentication
11947 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11948 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11949 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11953 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
11954 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
11955 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
11961 The valid format specifier characters are:
11965 The name of the server.
11968 User name from `imap-default-user'.
11971 The port number of the server.
11974 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11975 corresponding keywords.
11978 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11979 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11982 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11983 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11984 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11985 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11986 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11987 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11990 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11991 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11992 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11993 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11996 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11997 after finishing the fetch.
12001 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12004 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12006 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12010 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
12011 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
12013 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
12016 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12017 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12019 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
12025 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
12026 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
12029 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
12033 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
12037 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
12038 folder after finishing the fetch.
12042 An example webmail source:
12045 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
12047 :password "secret")
12052 @item Common Keywords
12053 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
12059 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
12060 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
12064 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
12069 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
12070 useful when you use local mail and news.
12075 @subsubsection Function Interface
12077 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
12078 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
12079 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
12080 consider the following mail-source setting:
12083 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
12084 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
12087 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
12088 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
12089 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
12090 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
12091 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
12093 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
12096 @node Mail Source Customization
12097 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
12099 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
12100 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
12104 @item mail-source-crash-box
12105 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
12106 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
12107 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
12109 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
12110 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
12111 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
12113 @item mail-source-directory
12114 @vindex mail-source-directory
12115 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
12116 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
12117 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
12120 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12121 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
12122 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
12123 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
12124 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
12125 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
12127 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
12128 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
12129 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
12134 @node Fetching Mail
12135 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
12137 @vindex mail-sources
12138 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
12139 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
12140 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
12141 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
12143 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
12144 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
12147 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
12148 mail server, you'd say something like:
12153 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12154 :password "secret")))
12157 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
12161 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
12162 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12165 :password "secret")))
12169 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
12170 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
12171 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
12172 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
12173 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
12174 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
12178 @node Mail Backend Variables
12179 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
12181 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
12185 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12186 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
12187 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
12188 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
12190 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
12191 @item nnmail-split-hook
12192 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
12193 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
12194 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
12195 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
12196 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
12197 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
12198 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
12199 in the buffer will show up in any files.
12200 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
12203 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12204 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12205 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12206 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12207 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
12208 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
12209 starting to handle the new mail) and
12210 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
12211 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
12212 default file modes the new mail files get:
12215 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
12216 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
12218 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
12219 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
12222 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
12223 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
12224 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
12225 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
12226 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
12227 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
12228 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
12230 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
12231 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
12232 @findex delete-file
12233 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
12235 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12236 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12237 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
12238 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
12239 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
12244 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
12245 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
12246 @cindex mail splitting
12247 @cindex fancy mail splitting
12249 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
12250 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
12251 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
12252 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
12253 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
12254 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
12256 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
12259 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
12260 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
12261 ;; from real errors.
12262 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
12264 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
12265 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
12266 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
12267 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
12268 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
12269 ;; Other mailing lists...
12270 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
12271 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
12272 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
12273 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
12274 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
12275 ;; message was really cross-posted.
12276 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
12277 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
12279 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
12280 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
12284 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
12285 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
12286 the five possible split syntaxes:
12291 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
12292 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
12296 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
12297 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
12298 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
12299 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
12300 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
12301 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
12302 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
12303 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
12306 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12307 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
12308 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
12309 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
12312 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12313 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
12316 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
12317 this message. Use with extreme caution.
12320 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
12321 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
12322 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
12323 function should return a @var{split}.
12326 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
12327 body of the messages:
12330 (defun split-on-body ()
12332 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
12333 (goto-char (point-min))
12334 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
12338 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
12339 when the @code{:} function is run.
12342 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
12343 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
12344 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
12348 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
12352 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
12353 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
12354 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
12355 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
12356 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
12358 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
12359 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
12360 are expanded as specified by the variable
12361 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
12362 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
12365 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
12366 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
12367 when all this splitting is performed.
12369 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
12370 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
12371 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
12374 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
12377 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
12378 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
12380 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
12381 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
12382 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
12383 groupings 1 through 9.
12385 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
12386 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
12387 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
12388 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
12389 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
12390 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
12391 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
12392 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
12393 it once per thread.
12395 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
12396 non-nil value. And then you can include
12397 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
12399 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12400 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
12401 ;; other splits go here
12405 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
12406 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
12407 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
12408 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
12409 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
12410 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
12411 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
12412 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
12413 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
12414 unless the group name matches the regexp
12415 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
12416 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
12417 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
12418 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
12419 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
12420 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
12421 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
12422 messages goes into the new group.
12425 @node Group Mail Splitting
12426 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
12427 @cindex mail splitting
12428 @cindex group mail splitting
12430 @findex gnus-group-split
12431 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
12432 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
12433 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
12434 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
12435 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
12436 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
12437 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
12438 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
12440 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
12441 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
12442 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
12443 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
12445 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
12446 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
12447 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
12448 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
12449 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
12450 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
12451 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
12453 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
12454 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
12455 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
12456 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
12457 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
12458 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
12459 @code{gnus-group-split}.
12461 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
12462 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
12463 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
12464 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
12465 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
12466 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
12467 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
12468 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
12469 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
12470 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
12471 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
12472 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
12473 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
12475 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
12480 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
12481 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
12483 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
12484 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
12485 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
12486 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
12488 ((split-spec . catch-all))
12491 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
12492 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
12493 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
12496 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
12497 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
12498 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
12502 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
12503 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
12504 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
12508 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
12511 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
12512 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
12513 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
12514 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
12515 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
12516 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
12517 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
12518 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
12519 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
12521 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
12522 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
12523 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12524 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12525 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12526 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12527 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12528 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12529 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12531 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12532 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12533 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12534 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12535 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12536 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12539 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12542 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12543 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12544 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12545 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12546 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12549 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12550 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12551 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12552 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12554 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12555 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12556 @cindex incorporating old mail
12557 @cindex import old mail
12559 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12560 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12561 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12564 Doing so can be quite easy.
12566 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12567 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12568 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12569 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12570 your @code{nnml} groups.
12576 Go to the group buffer.
12579 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12580 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12583 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12586 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12587 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12590 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12591 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12594 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12595 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12596 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12597 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12598 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12600 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12601 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12602 using the new mail backend.
12605 @node Expiring Mail
12606 @subsection Expiring Mail
12607 @cindex article expiry
12609 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12610 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12611 different approach to mail reading.
12613 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12614 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12615 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12616 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12617 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12618 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12621 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12622 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12623 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12624 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12625 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12626 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12627 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12628 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12630 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12631 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12632 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12633 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12634 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12635 column in the summary buffer.
12637 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12638 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12639 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12640 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12643 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12645 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12646 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12647 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12650 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12651 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12652 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12653 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12654 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12656 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12657 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12660 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12661 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12664 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12665 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12667 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12668 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12669 don't really mix very well.
12671 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12672 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12673 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12674 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12677 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12678 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12679 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12680 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12683 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12685 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12687 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12689 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12691 ((string= group "important")
12697 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12698 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12700 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12701 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12702 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12705 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12706 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12708 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12709 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12710 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12711 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12712 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12713 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12714 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12715 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12716 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12717 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12718 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12719 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12722 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12724 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12728 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12729 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12730 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12731 easier for procmail users.
12733 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12734 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12735 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12736 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12737 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12738 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12739 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12740 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12741 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12742 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12743 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12744 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12745 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12748 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12750 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12751 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12752 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12753 auto-expire turned on.
12757 @subsection Washing Mail
12758 @cindex mail washing
12759 @cindex list server brain damage
12760 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12762 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12763 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12764 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12765 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12766 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12767 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12769 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12770 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12771 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12774 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12775 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12776 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12777 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12780 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12781 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12782 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12783 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12784 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12787 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12788 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12789 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12790 Emacs running on MS machines.
12794 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12795 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12796 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12797 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12800 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12801 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12802 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12803 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12805 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12806 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12807 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12808 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12809 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12810 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12811 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12814 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12815 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12818 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12819 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12822 This can also be done non-destructively with
12823 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12825 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12826 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12827 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12829 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12830 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12832 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12833 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12834 @code{References} headers.
12838 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12839 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12840 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12844 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12845 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12846 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12853 @subsection Duplicates
12855 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12856 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12857 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12858 @cindex duplicate mails
12859 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12860 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12861 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12862 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12863 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12864 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12865 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12866 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12867 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12868 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12869 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12870 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12871 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12873 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12874 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12875 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12876 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12878 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12881 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12882 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12886 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12887 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12888 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
12889 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12890 (any mail "mail.misc")
12897 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12898 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
12903 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12904 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12905 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12906 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12907 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12910 @node Not Reading Mail
12911 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12913 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12914 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12915 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12917 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12918 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12919 mail, which should help.
12921 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12922 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12923 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12924 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12925 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12926 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12927 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12928 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12929 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12930 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12931 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12933 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12934 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12938 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12939 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12941 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12942 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12943 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12945 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12946 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12947 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12948 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12951 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12952 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12953 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12954 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12955 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12956 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12960 @node Unix Mail Box
12961 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12963 @cindex unix mail box
12965 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12966 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12967 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12968 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12969 which group it belongs in.
12971 Virtual server settings:
12974 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12975 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12976 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
12979 @item nnmbox-active-file
12980 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12981 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
12982 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
12984 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12985 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12986 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12987 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
12992 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12996 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12997 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12998 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12999 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
13000 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
13002 Virtual server settings:
13005 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
13006 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
13007 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
13009 @item nnbabyl-active-file
13010 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
13011 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
13012 @file{~/.rmail-active}
13014 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13015 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13016 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
13022 @subsubsection Mail Spool
13024 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
13026 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
13027 format. It should be used with some caution.
13029 @vindex nnml-directory
13030 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
13031 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
13032 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
13033 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
13035 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
13038 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
13039 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
13040 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
13041 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
13042 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
13043 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
13044 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
13045 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
13047 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
13048 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
13049 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
13050 backend when it comes to reading mail.
13052 Virtual server settings:
13055 @item nnml-directory
13056 @vindex nnml-directory
13057 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
13058 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
13061 @item nnml-active-file
13062 @vindex nnml-active-file
13063 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
13064 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
13066 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
13067 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
13068 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13069 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
13071 @item nnml-get-new-mail
13072 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13073 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
13076 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
13077 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
13078 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13079 default is @code{nil}
13081 @item nnml-nov-file-name
13082 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
13083 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
13085 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13086 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
13087 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
13091 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
13092 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
13093 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
13094 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
13095 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
13096 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
13097 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
13102 @subsubsection MH Spool
13104 @cindex mh-e mail spool
13106 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
13107 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
13108 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
13109 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
13111 Virtual server settings:
13114 @item nnmh-directory
13115 @vindex nnmh-directory
13116 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
13117 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13120 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
13121 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13122 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
13126 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
13127 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
13128 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
13129 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
13130 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
13131 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
13132 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
13137 @subsubsection Mail Folders
13139 @cindex mbox folders
13140 @cindex mail folders
13142 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
13143 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
13144 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
13147 Virtual server settings:
13150 @item nnfolder-directory
13151 @vindex nnfolder-directory
13152 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
13153 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
13156 @item nnfolder-active-file
13157 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
13158 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
13160 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13161 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
13162 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
13163 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
13165 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
13166 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13167 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
13170 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13171 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
13172 @cindex backup files
13173 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
13174 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
13175 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
13176 your @file{.emacs} file:
13179 (defun turn-off-backup ()
13180 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
13182 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
13185 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13186 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
13187 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
13188 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
13189 extract some information from it before removing it.
13191 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13192 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
13193 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
13194 default is @code{nil}.
13199 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
13200 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
13201 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
13202 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
13203 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
13204 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
13207 @node Comparing Mail Backends
13208 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
13210 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
13211 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
13212 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
13213 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
13214 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
13216 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
13217 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
13218 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
13219 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
13220 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
13221 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
13222 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
13223 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
13226 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
13227 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
13228 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
13229 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
13234 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
13235 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
13236 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
13237 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
13238 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
13239 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
13240 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
13241 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
13242 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
13243 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
13244 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
13245 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
13246 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
13251 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
13252 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
13253 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
13254 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
13255 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
13256 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
13257 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
13258 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
13259 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
13260 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
13261 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
13262 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
13263 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
13264 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
13266 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
13267 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
13272 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
13273 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
13274 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
13275 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
13276 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
13277 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
13278 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
13279 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
13280 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
13281 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
13282 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
13283 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
13284 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
13285 provided by the active file and overviews.
13287 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
13288 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
13289 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
13290 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
13291 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
13294 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
13295 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
13300 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
13301 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
13302 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
13303 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
13304 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
13305 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
13306 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
13310 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
13311 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
13312 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
13313 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
13314 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
13315 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
13316 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
13317 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
13318 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
13320 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
13321 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
13322 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
13323 friendly mail backend all over.
13328 @node Browsing the Web
13329 @section Browsing the Web
13331 @cindex browsing the web
13335 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
13336 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
13337 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
13338 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
13339 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
13340 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
13341 even know what a news group is.
13343 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
13344 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
13345 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
13346 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
13347 you mad in the end.
13349 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
13352 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
13353 interfaces to these sources.
13356 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
13357 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
13358 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
13359 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
13360 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
13361 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
13364 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
13366 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
13367 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
13368 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
13369 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
13370 though, you should be ok.
13372 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
13373 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
13374 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
13375 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
13376 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
13380 @subsection Web Searches
13384 @cindex InReference
13385 @cindex Usenet searches
13386 @cindex searching the Usenet
13388 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
13389 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
13390 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
13391 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
13392 searches without having to use a browser.
13394 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
13395 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
13396 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
13397 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
13398 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
13400 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
13401 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
13402 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
13403 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
13404 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
13405 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
13406 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
13407 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
13408 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
13409 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
13412 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
13413 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
13414 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
13415 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
13416 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
13417 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
13419 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
13420 to use @code{nnweb}.
13422 Virtual server variables:
13427 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
13428 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
13432 @vindex nnweb-search
13433 The search string to feed to the search engine.
13435 @item nnweb-max-hits
13436 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
13437 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
13440 @item nnweb-type-definition
13441 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
13442 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
13443 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
13448 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
13452 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
13455 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
13458 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
13462 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
13469 @subsection Slashdot
13473 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
13474 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
13475 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
13477 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
13478 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
13481 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13482 '((nnslashdot "")))
13485 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
13486 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
13487 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
13488 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
13489 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
13492 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
13493 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13495 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
13496 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
13497 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
13498 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
13499 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
13500 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
13503 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
13506 @item nnslashdot-threaded
13507 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
13508 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
13509 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
13510 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
13511 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
13512 but much, much slower than untreaded.
13514 @item nnslashdot-login-name
13515 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
13516 The login name to use when posting.
13518 @item nnslashdot-password
13519 @vindex nnslashdot-password
13520 The password to use when posting.
13522 @item nnslashdot-directory
13523 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
13524 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
13525 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
13527 @item nnslashdot-active-url
13528 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
13529 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
13530 news articles and comments. The default is
13531 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
13533 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
13534 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
13535 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
13537 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
13539 @item nnslashdot-article-url
13540 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
13541 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
13543 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13545 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13546 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13547 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13549 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13550 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13551 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13552 updated. The default is 0.
13559 @subsection Ultimate
13561 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13563 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13564 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13565 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13566 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13568 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13569 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13570 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13571 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13572 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13573 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13574 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13576 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13579 @item nnultimate-directory
13580 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13581 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13582 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13587 @subsection Web Archive
13589 @cindex Web Archive
13591 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13592 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13593 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13594 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13597 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13598 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13599 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13600 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13601 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13602 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13603 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13605 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13608 @item nnwarchive-directory
13609 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13610 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13611 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13613 @item nnwarchive-login
13614 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13615 The account name on the web server.
13617 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13618 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13619 The password for your account on the web server.
13627 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
13628 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
13629 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13632 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
13633 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
13636 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
13639 @item nnrss-directory
13640 @vindex nnrss-directory
13641 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
13642 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
13646 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
13647 the summary buffer.
13650 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
13651 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
13653 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
13655 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
13656 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
13659 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
13662 (require 'browse-url)
13664 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
13666 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
13669 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
13670 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
13672 (browse-url (cdr url))
13673 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
13675 (eval-after-load "gnus"
13676 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
13677 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
13678 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
13681 @node Customizing w3
13682 @subsection Customizing w3
13688 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13689 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13690 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13692 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13693 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13694 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13697 (eval-after-load "w3"
13699 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13700 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13701 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13702 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13704 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13707 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13708 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13712 @node Other Sources
13713 @section Other Sources
13715 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
13716 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
13720 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
13721 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
13722 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
13723 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
13724 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
13725 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
13729 @node Directory Groups
13730 @subsection Directory Groups
13732 @cindex directory groups
13734 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13735 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13738 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13739 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13740 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13741 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13743 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13744 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13745 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13746 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13747 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13749 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13751 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13752 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13753 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13754 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13757 @node Anything Groups
13758 @subsection Anything Groups
13761 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13762 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13763 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13766 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13767 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13768 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13769 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13770 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13771 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13772 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13773 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13774 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13775 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13778 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13779 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13780 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13781 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13783 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13784 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13785 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13786 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13788 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13789 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13790 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13791 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13792 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13793 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13794 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13795 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13800 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13801 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13802 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13803 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13805 @item nneething-exclude-files
13806 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13807 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13808 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13810 @item nneething-include-files
13811 @vindex nneething-include-files
13812 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13813 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13815 @item nneething-map-file
13816 @vindex nneething-map-file
13817 Name of the map files.
13821 @node Document Groups
13822 @subsection Document Groups
13824 @cindex documentation group
13827 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13828 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13835 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13840 The standard Unix mbox file.
13842 @cindex MMDF mail box
13844 The MMDF mail box format.
13847 Several news articles appended into a file.
13850 @cindex rnews batch files
13851 The rnews batch transport format.
13852 @cindex forwarded messages
13855 Forwarded articles.
13858 Netscape mail boxes.
13861 MIME multipart messages.
13863 @item standard-digest
13864 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13867 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13870 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13871 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13872 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13875 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13876 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13877 group. And that's it.
13879 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13880 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13881 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13882 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13883 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13884 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13885 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13886 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13887 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13888 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13890 Virtual server variables:
13893 @item nndoc-article-type
13894 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13895 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13896 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13897 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13898 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13900 @item nndoc-post-type
13901 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13902 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13903 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13908 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13912 @node Document Server Internals
13913 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13915 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13916 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13917 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13918 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13920 First, here's an example document type definition:
13924 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13925 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13928 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13929 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13930 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13931 types can be defined with very few settings:
13934 @item first-article
13935 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13936 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13939 @item article-begin
13940 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13941 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13943 @item head-begin-function
13944 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13947 @item nndoc-head-begin
13948 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13951 @item nndoc-head-end
13952 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13953 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13955 @item body-begin-function
13956 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13960 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13963 @item body-end-function
13964 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13968 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13971 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13972 regexp will be totally ignored.
13976 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13977 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13978 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13979 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13980 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13983 @item prepare-body-function
13984 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13985 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13986 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13988 @item article-transform-function
13989 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13990 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13991 body of the article.
13993 @item generate-head-function
13994 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13995 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13996 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13997 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
14001 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
14006 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14007 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
14008 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
14009 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
14010 (head-end . "^ ?$")
14011 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
14012 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
14013 (subtype digest guess))
14016 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
14017 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
14018 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
14019 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
14020 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
14022 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
14023 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
14024 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
14025 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
14026 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
14027 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
14028 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
14029 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
14030 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
14031 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
14039 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
14040 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
14041 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
14043 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
14044 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
14045 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
14048 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
14049 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
14050 that interested in doing things properly.
14052 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
14053 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
14056 First some terminology:
14061 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
14062 get news and/or mail from.
14065 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
14066 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
14069 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
14073 @item message packets
14074 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
14075 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
14076 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14078 @item response packets
14079 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
14080 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
14081 default, where @var{x} is a number.
14091 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
14092 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
14093 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
14094 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
14097 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
14100 You put the packet in your home directory.
14103 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
14104 the native or secondary server.
14107 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
14108 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
14111 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
14115 You transfer this packet to the server.
14118 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
14121 You then repeat until you die.
14125 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
14126 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
14129 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
14130 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
14131 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
14135 @node SOUP Commands
14136 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
14138 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
14142 @kindex G s b (Group)
14143 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
14144 Pack all unread articles in the current group
14145 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
14146 process/prefix convention.
14149 @kindex G s w (Group)
14150 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
14151 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
14154 @kindex G s s (Group)
14155 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
14156 Send all replies from the replies packet
14157 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
14160 @kindex G s p (Group)
14161 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
14162 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
14165 @kindex G s r (Group)
14166 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
14167 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
14170 @kindex O s (Summary)
14171 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
14172 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
14173 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
14174 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14179 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
14184 @item gnus-soup-directory
14185 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
14186 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
14187 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
14189 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
14190 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
14191 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
14192 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
14194 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
14195 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
14196 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
14197 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
14199 @item gnus-soup-packer
14200 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
14201 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14202 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
14204 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
14205 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
14206 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
14207 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14209 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
14210 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
14211 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
14213 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14214 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
14215 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
14216 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
14222 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
14225 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
14226 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
14227 you can read them at leisure.
14229 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
14233 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
14234 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
14235 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
14236 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
14238 @item nnsoup-directory
14239 @vindex nnsoup-directory
14240 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
14241 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
14243 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
14244 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
14245 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
14246 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
14248 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
14249 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
14250 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
14251 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
14252 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
14254 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
14255 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
14256 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
14257 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
14259 @item nnsoup-active-file
14260 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
14261 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
14262 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
14263 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
14264 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
14266 @item nnsoup-packer
14267 @vindex nnsoup-packer
14268 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
14269 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
14271 @item nnsoup-unpacker
14272 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
14273 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
14274 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
14276 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
14277 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
14278 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
14281 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
14282 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
14283 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
14286 @item nnsoup-always-save
14287 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
14288 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
14294 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
14296 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
14297 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
14298 more for that to happen.
14300 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
14301 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
14302 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
14305 In specific, this is what it does:
14308 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
14309 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
14312 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
14313 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
14314 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
14317 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
14318 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
14319 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
14322 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
14323 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
14324 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
14326 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
14332 @item nngateway-address
14333 @vindex nngateway-address
14334 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
14336 @item nngateway-header-transformation
14337 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
14338 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
14339 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
14340 transformation should be called, and defaults to
14341 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
14342 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
14345 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
14346 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
14347 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
14350 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
14353 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
14356 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
14359 The following pre-defined functions exist:
14361 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
14364 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
14365 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
14366 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
14368 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
14370 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
14371 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
14372 @code{nngateway-address}.
14377 (setq gnus-post-method
14379 "mail2news@@replay.com"
14380 (nngateway-header-transformation
14381 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
14389 So, to use this, simply say something like:
14392 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
14398 @subsection @sc{imap}
14402 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14403 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14404 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14405 specify the network address of the server.
14407 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14408 POP can, it can hence be viewed as POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14409 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14410 protocol. (@sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp} because news
14411 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.)
14413 If you want to use @sc{imap} as POP++, use an imap entry in
14414 mail-sources. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the @sc{imap}
14415 server and store them on the local disk. This is not the usage
14416 described in this section. @xref{Mail Sources}.
14418 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14419 entry in gnus-secondary-select-methods. With this, Gnus will
14420 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14421 usage explained in this section.
14423 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14424 might look something like this:
14427 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14428 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14429 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14431 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14432 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14433 ; a UW server running on localhost
14435 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14436 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14437 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14438 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14439 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14440 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14441 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14442 (nnimap-stream network))
14443 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14445 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14446 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14447 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14450 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14455 @item nnimap-address
14456 @vindex nnimap-address
14458 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14459 server name if not specified.
14461 @item nnimap-server-port
14462 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14463 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14465 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
14468 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14469 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14472 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14473 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14474 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14475 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14476 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14477 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14478 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14480 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14481 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14482 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14485 Example server specification:
14488 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14489 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14490 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14493 @item nnimap-stream
14494 @vindex nnimap-stream
14495 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
14496 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
14497 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
14498 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
14500 Example server specification:
14503 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14504 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14507 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
14511 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Requires the
14512 @samp{imtest} program.
14514 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
14516 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
14517 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
14520 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the
14521 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
14523 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
14525 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
14528 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
14529 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
14530 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
14531 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
14532 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
14533 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
14534 restrictions on IMAP commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
14535 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
14536 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
14539 @vindex imap-ssl-program
14540 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
14541 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
14542 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
14543 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
14544 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
14545 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
14548 @vindex imap-shell-program
14549 @vindex imap-shell-host
14550 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
14551 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
14553 @item nnimap-authenticator
14554 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
14556 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
14557 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
14559 Example server specification:
14562 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14563 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
14566 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
14570 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
14571 external program @code{imtest}.
14573 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
14576 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
14577 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
14579 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
14581 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
14583 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
14586 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
14588 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
14589 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
14590 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
14591 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
14592 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
14593 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
14596 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
14597 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
14598 running in circles yet?
14600 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
14601 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
14604 The possible options are:
14609 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
14612 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
14613 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
14614 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
14615 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
14617 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
14622 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
14623 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
14625 If non-nil, marks dormant articles as ticked (as well), for other IMAP
14626 clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will naturally still (only) be
14627 marked as ticked. This is to make dormant articles stand out, just
14628 like ticked articles, in other IMAP clients. (In other words, Gnus has
14629 two ``Tick'' marks and IMAP has only one.)
14631 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
14632 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
14635 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
14636 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14637 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
14638 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
14641 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
14642 as ticked for other users.
14644 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
14646 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
14648 This variable contain the IMAP search command sent to server when
14649 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
14650 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
14651 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
14653 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
14654 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
14655 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
14656 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
14658 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
14659 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14661 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14662 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14663 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14669 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14670 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14671 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14676 @node Splitting in IMAP
14677 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14678 @cindex splitting imap mail
14680 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14681 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14682 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14683 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14684 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14688 Here are the variables of interest:
14692 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14693 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14695 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14697 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14698 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14700 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14702 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14703 @cindex splitting, inbox
14705 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14707 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14708 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14712 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14713 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14716 No nnmail equivalent.
14718 @item nnimap-split-rule
14719 @cindex Splitting, rules
14720 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14722 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14725 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14726 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14727 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14728 Neither did I, we need examples.
14731 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14733 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14734 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14735 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14738 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14739 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14740 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
14742 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14743 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14747 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14750 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14751 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14752 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14753 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14755 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14756 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14757 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14758 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
14759 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14760 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14762 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14763 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14764 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14766 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14767 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14768 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14770 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14772 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14773 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14774 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14777 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14778 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14779 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14780 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14781 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14782 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14785 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14786 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14787 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14788 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14789 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14790 group/function elements.
14792 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14794 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14796 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14798 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14799 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14801 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14802 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14803 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14806 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14807 @cindex splitting, fancy
14808 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14809 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14811 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14812 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14813 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14815 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14816 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14817 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14818 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14823 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14824 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14827 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14831 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14832 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14833 @cindex editing imap acls
14834 @cindex Access Control Lists
14835 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14837 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14839 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14840 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14841 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14844 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14845 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14846 editing window with detailed instructions.
14848 Some possible uses:
14852 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14853 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14854 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14856 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14857 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14858 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14862 @node Expunging mailboxes
14863 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14867 @cindex Manual expunging
14869 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14871 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
14872 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14873 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14875 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14880 @node Combined Groups
14881 @section Combined Groups
14883 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14887 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14888 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14892 @node Virtual Groups
14893 @subsection Virtual Groups
14895 @cindex virtual groups
14896 @cindex merging groups
14898 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14901 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14902 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14903 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14905 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14906 regexp to match component groups.
14908 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14909 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14910 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14911 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14912 the virtual group.)
14914 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14915 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14918 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14921 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14922 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14924 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14925 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14926 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14927 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14930 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14933 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14934 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14935 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14937 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14938 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14939 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14940 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14941 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14943 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14944 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14945 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14947 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14948 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14949 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14950 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14951 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14952 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14953 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14954 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14955 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14956 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14957 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14959 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14960 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14961 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14962 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14963 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14964 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14965 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14967 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14968 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14972 @node Kibozed Groups
14973 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14977 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14978 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14979 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14980 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14982 @kindex G k (Group)
14983 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14986 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14987 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14988 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14989 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14991 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14992 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14993 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14995 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14996 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14997 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14998 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14999 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
15000 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
15001 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
15002 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
15004 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
15005 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
15006 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
15007 Stranger things have happened.
15009 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
15010 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
15012 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
15013 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
15014 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
15015 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
15016 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
15017 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
15019 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
15020 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
15023 @node Gnus Unplugged
15024 @section Gnus Unplugged
15029 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
15031 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
15032 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
15033 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
15034 read news. Believe it or not.
15036 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
15037 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
15038 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
15039 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
15040 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
15042 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
15043 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
15044 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
15045 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
15046 reading news on a machine.
15048 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
15052 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
15053 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
15057 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
15058 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15065 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
15067 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
15070 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
15071 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
15072 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
15073 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
15074 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
15075 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
15076 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
15077 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
15078 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
15079 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
15084 @subsection Agent Basics
15086 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
15088 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
15089 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
15090 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
15091 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
15093 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
15094 connected to the net continuously.
15096 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
15097 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
15099 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
15104 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
15105 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
15106 already fetched while in this mode.
15109 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
15110 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
15111 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
15112 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
15113 Source Specifiers}).
15116 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
15117 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
15118 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
15119 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
15120 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
15123 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
15124 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
15125 then you read the news offline.
15128 And then you go to step 2.
15131 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
15137 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
15138 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
15139 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
15140 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
15141 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
15142 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
15145 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
15152 @node Agent Categories
15153 @subsection Agent Categories
15155 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
15156 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
15157 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
15158 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
15159 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
15160 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
15161 you're interested in the articles anyway.
15163 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
15164 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
15165 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
15166 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
15167 managing categories.
15170 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
15171 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
15172 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
15176 @node Category Syntax
15177 @subsubsection Category Syntax
15179 A category consists of two things.
15183 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
15184 are eligible for downloading; and
15187 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
15188 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
15189 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
15192 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
15193 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
15194 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
15195 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
15197 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
15198 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
15199 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
15201 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
15202 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
15203 operators sprinkled in between.
15205 Perhaps some examples are in order.
15207 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
15208 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
15214 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
15215 short (for some value of ``short'').
15217 Here's a more complex predicate:
15226 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
15227 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
15230 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
15231 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
15232 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
15234 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
15235 you want to do, you can write your own.
15239 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
15240 lines; default 100.
15243 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
15244 lines; default 200.
15247 True iff the article has a download score less than
15248 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
15251 True iff the article has a download score greater than
15252 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
15255 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
15256 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
15257 checksum and sees whether articles match.
15266 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
15267 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
15268 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
15271 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
15272 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
15273 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
15274 something along the lines of the following:
15277 (defun my-article-old-p ()
15278 "Say whether an article is old."
15279 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
15280 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
15283 with the predicate then defined as:
15286 (not my-article-old-p)
15289 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
15290 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
15291 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
15292 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
15295 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
15296 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
15297 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
15300 and simply specify your predicate as:
15306 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
15307 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
15308 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
15309 just don't give a damn.
15311 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
15312 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
15313 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
15314 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
15315 parameters like so:
15318 (agent-predicate . short)
15321 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
15322 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
15323 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
15325 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
15328 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
15331 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
15332 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
15333 predicate is assumed to be a list.
15336 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
15337 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
15338 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
15339 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
15340 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
15341 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
15343 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
15344 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
15345 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
15346 if it's to be specific to that group.
15348 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
15355 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
15356 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
15362 Category specification
15366 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15372 Group Parameter specification
15375 (agent-score ("from"
15376 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
15381 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
15387 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
15394 Category specification
15397 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
15403 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
15407 Group Parameter specification
15410 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
15413 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
15418 Use @code{normal} score files
15420 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
15421 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
15422 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
15423 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
15425 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
15426 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
15427 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
15428 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
15432 Category Specification
15439 Group Parameter specification
15442 (agent-score . file)
15447 @node Category Buffer
15448 @subsubsection Category Buffer
15450 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
15451 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
15452 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
15454 The following commands are available in this buffer:
15458 @kindex q (Category)
15459 @findex gnus-category-exit
15460 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
15463 @kindex k (Category)
15464 @findex gnus-category-kill
15465 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
15468 @kindex c (Category)
15469 @findex gnus-category-copy
15470 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
15473 @kindex a (Category)
15474 @findex gnus-category-add
15475 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
15478 @kindex p (Category)
15479 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
15480 Edit the predicate of the current category
15481 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
15484 @kindex g (Category)
15485 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
15486 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
15487 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
15490 @kindex s (Category)
15491 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
15492 Edit the download score rule of the current category
15493 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
15496 @kindex l (Category)
15497 @findex gnus-category-list
15498 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
15502 @node Category Variables
15503 @subsubsection Category Variables
15506 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
15507 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
15508 Hook run in category buffers.
15510 @item gnus-category-line-format
15511 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
15512 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
15513 Variables}). Valid elements are:
15517 The name of the category.
15520 The number of groups in the category.
15523 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
15524 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
15525 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
15527 @item gnus-agent-short-article
15528 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
15529 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
15531 @item gnus-agent-long-article
15532 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
15533 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
15535 @item gnus-agent-low-score
15536 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
15537 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
15540 @item gnus-agent-high-score
15541 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
15542 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
15548 @node Agent Commands
15549 @subsection Agent Commands
15551 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
15552 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
15553 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
15557 * Group Agent Commands::
15558 * Summary Agent Commands::
15559 * Server Agent Commands::
15562 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
15563 following incantation:
15565 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15567 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
15572 @node Group Agent Commands
15573 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
15577 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
15578 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
15579 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
15580 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
15583 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
15584 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
15585 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
15588 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
15589 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
15590 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
15591 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
15594 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
15595 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
15596 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
15597 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
15600 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
15601 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
15602 Add the current group to an Agent category
15603 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
15604 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15607 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
15608 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
15609 Remove the current group from its category, if any
15610 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
15611 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15614 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
15615 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15616 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
15622 @node Summary Agent Commands
15623 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
15627 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
15628 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
15629 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
15632 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
15633 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
15634 Remove the downloading mark from the article
15635 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
15638 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
15639 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
15640 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
15643 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
15644 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
15645 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
15648 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
15649 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
15650 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
15651 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
15656 @node Server Agent Commands
15657 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
15661 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
15662 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15663 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15664 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15667 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15668 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15669 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15670 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15676 @subsection Agent Expiry
15678 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15679 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15680 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15681 @cindex Agent expiry
15682 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15685 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15686 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15687 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15688 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15689 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15690 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15692 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15693 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15694 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15695 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15696 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15699 @node Agent and IMAP
15700 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15702 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However,
15703 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
15704 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
15705 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
15707 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15708 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15709 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15710 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15712 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15713 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15714 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15715 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15716 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15718 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15719 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15720 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15721 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15722 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15723 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15725 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15726 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15727 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15728 in the group buffer by default.
15730 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15731 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
15736 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15739 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15743 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15744 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15745 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15746 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15747 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15748 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15749 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15750 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15753 @node Outgoing Messages
15754 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15756 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15757 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15758 after posting, and edit them at will.
15760 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15761 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15762 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15763 messages in the draft group.
15767 @node Agent Variables
15768 @subsection Agent Variables
15771 @item gnus-agent-directory
15772 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15773 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15774 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15776 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15777 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15778 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15779 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15780 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15783 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15784 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15785 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15787 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15788 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15789 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15794 @node Example Setup
15795 @subsection Example Setup
15797 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15798 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15799 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15802 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15803 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15804 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15806 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15807 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15808 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15810 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15811 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15813 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15817 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15818 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15821 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15822 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15823 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15824 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15825 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15828 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15829 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15830 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15831 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15832 back all the killed groups.)
15834 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15835 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15836 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15839 @node Batching Agents
15840 @subsection Batching Agents
15842 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15843 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15844 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15848 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15852 @node Agent Caveats
15853 @subsection Agent Caveats
15855 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15856 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15860 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15865 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15866 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15872 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15873 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15880 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15881 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15882 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15885 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15886 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15887 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15888 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15889 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15891 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15892 before generating the summary buffer.
15894 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15895 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15896 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15898 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15899 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15900 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15901 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15904 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15905 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15906 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15907 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15908 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15909 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15910 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15911 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15912 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
15913 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15914 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15915 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15916 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15917 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15918 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15919 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15920 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15924 @node Summary Score Commands
15925 @section Summary Score Commands
15926 @cindex score commands
15928 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15929 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15930 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15931 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15932 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15934 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15935 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15936 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15937 score file the current one.
15939 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15944 @kindex V s (Summary)
15945 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15946 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15949 @kindex V S (Summary)
15950 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15951 Display the score of the current article
15952 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15955 @kindex V t (Summary)
15956 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15957 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15958 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15961 @kindex V R (Summary)
15962 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15963 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15964 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15965 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15966 effect you're having.
15969 @kindex V c (Summary)
15970 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15971 Make a different score file the current
15972 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15975 @kindex V e (Summary)
15976 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15977 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15978 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15982 @kindex V f (Summary)
15983 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15984 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15985 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15988 @kindex V F (Summary)
15989 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15990 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15991 after editing score files.
15994 @kindex V C (Summary)
15995 @findex gnus-score-customize
15996 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15997 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
16001 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
16006 @kindex V m (Summary)
16007 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
16008 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
16009 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
16012 @kindex V x (Summary)
16013 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
16014 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
16015 expunge all articles below this score
16016 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
16019 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
16020 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
16023 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
16024 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
16028 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
16029 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
16031 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
16032 keys are available:
16036 Score on the author name.
16039 Score on the subject line.
16042 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
16045 Score on the @code{References} line.
16051 Score on the number of lines.
16054 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
16057 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
16058 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
16059 @file{ADAPT} files.)
16068 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
16074 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
16075 what headers you are scoring on.
16087 Substring matching.
16090 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
16119 Greater than number.
16124 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
16125 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
16126 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
16130 Temporary score entry.
16133 Permanent score entry.
16136 Immediately scoring.
16141 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
16142 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
16143 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
16144 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
16146 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
16147 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
16148 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
16149 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
16150 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
16152 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
16153 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
16154 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
16155 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
16156 current score file.
16158 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
16159 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
16160 pretend they are keymaps or not.
16163 @node Group Score Commands
16164 @section Group Score Commands
16165 @cindex group score commands
16167 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
16172 @kindex W f (Group)
16173 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
16174 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
16175 all the time. This command will flush the cache
16176 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
16180 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
16182 @findex gnus-batch-score
16183 @cindex batch scoring
16185 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
16189 @node Score Variables
16190 @section Score Variables
16191 @cindex score variables
16195 @item gnus-use-scoring
16196 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
16197 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
16198 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
16200 @item gnus-kill-killed
16201 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
16202 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
16203 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
16204 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
16205 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
16206 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
16207 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
16209 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
16210 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
16211 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
16212 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
16213 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
16215 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
16216 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
16217 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
16218 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
16220 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16221 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
16222 @cindex score cache
16223 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
16224 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
16225 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
16226 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
16227 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
16228 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
16231 @item gnus-save-score
16232 @vindex gnus-save-score
16233 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
16234 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
16235 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
16237 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
16238 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
16239 across group visits.
16241 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16242 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
16243 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
16244 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
16245 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
16246 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
16247 manually entered data.
16249 @item gnus-summary-default-score
16250 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
16251 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
16253 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
16254 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
16255 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
16256 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
16257 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
16258 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
16260 @item gnus-score-over-mark
16261 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
16262 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
16263 default. Default is @samp{+}.
16265 @item gnus-score-below-mark
16266 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
16267 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
16268 default. Default is @samp{-}.
16270 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16271 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
16272 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
16273 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
16275 Predefined functions available are:
16278 @item gnus-score-find-single
16279 @findex gnus-score-find-single
16280 Only apply the group's own score file.
16282 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
16283 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
16284 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
16285 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
16286 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
16287 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
16288 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
16289 then a regexp match is done.
16291 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
16292 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
16294 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
16295 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
16296 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
16297 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
16299 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16300 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
16301 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
16302 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
16303 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
16307 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
16308 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
16309 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
16310 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
16311 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
16312 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
16313 returned is the local score file. Phu.
16315 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
16316 overall score file, you could use the value
16318 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
16319 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
16322 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
16323 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
16324 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
16325 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
16326 are expired. It's 7 by default.
16328 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16329 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
16330 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
16331 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
16332 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
16333 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
16334 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
16337 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16338 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
16339 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
16341 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
16342 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
16343 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
16344 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
16345 threading---according to the current value of
16346 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
16347 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
16348 simplified in this manner.
16353 @node Score File Format
16354 @section Score File Format
16355 @cindex score file format
16357 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
16358 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
16359 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
16361 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
16365 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
16367 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
16369 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
16371 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
16376 (mark-and-expunge -10)
16380 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
16381 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
16382 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
16383 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
16387 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
16388 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
16390 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
16391 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
16392 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
16394 Six keys are supported by this alist:
16399 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
16400 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
16401 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
16402 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
16403 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
16404 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
16405 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
16406 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
16407 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
16408 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
16409 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
16410 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
16411 to articles that matches these score entries.
16413 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
16414 score entry has one to four elements.
16418 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
16419 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
16423 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
16424 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
16425 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
16426 is successful. If this element is not present, the
16427 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
16428 instead. This is 1000 by default.
16431 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
16432 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
16433 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
16434 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
16435 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
16438 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
16439 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
16440 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
16441 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
16444 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
16445 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
16446 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
16447 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
16448 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
16449 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
16450 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
16451 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
16452 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
16453 instead, if you feel like.
16456 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
16457 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
16459 These predicates are true if
16462 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
16465 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
16466 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
16473 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
16474 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
16475 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
16476 it's not. I think.)
16478 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
16479 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
16480 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
16481 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
16484 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
16485 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
16486 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
16487 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
16488 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
16489 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
16490 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
16494 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
16495 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
16496 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
16497 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
16498 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
16499 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
16500 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
16501 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
16504 @item Head, Body, All
16505 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
16509 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
16510 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
16511 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
16512 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
16513 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
16514 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
16515 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
16519 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
16520 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
16521 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
16522 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
16523 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
16524 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
16525 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
16526 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
16527 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
16528 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
16529 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
16533 @cindex Score File Atoms
16535 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16536 lower than this number will be marked as read.
16539 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16540 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
16542 @item mark-and-expunge
16543 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
16544 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
16547 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
16548 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
16549 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
16550 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
16551 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
16554 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
16555 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
16558 @item exclude-files
16559 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
16560 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
16564 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
16565 ignored when handling global score files.
16568 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
16569 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
16570 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
16571 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
16574 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
16575 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
16576 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
16577 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
16579 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
16583 (mark-and-expunge -100)
16586 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
16587 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
16588 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
16589 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
16590 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
16592 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
16593 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
16594 scoring rules exist.
16597 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
16598 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
16599 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
16600 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
16601 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
16602 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
16603 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16604 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
16605 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
16606 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
16607 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
16611 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
16612 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
16613 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
16614 file for a number of groups.
16617 @cindex local variables
16618 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
16619 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
16620 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
16621 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
16622 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
16626 @node Score File Editing
16627 @section Score File Editing
16629 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
16630 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
16631 with a mode for that.
16633 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
16634 additional commands:
16639 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
16640 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
16641 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
16642 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
16645 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
16646 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
16647 Insert the current date in numerical format
16648 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
16649 you were wondering.
16652 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
16653 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
16654 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
16655 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
16656 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
16661 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
16663 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
16664 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
16666 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16667 e} to begin editing score files.
16670 @node Adaptive Scoring
16671 @section Adaptive Scoring
16672 @cindex adaptive scoring
16674 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16675 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16676 stupidity, to be precise.
16678 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16679 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16680 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16681 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16682 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16683 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16684 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16685 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16686 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16688 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16689 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16690 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16691 might look something like this:
16694 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16695 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16696 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16697 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16698 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16699 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16700 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16701 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16702 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16703 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16704 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16705 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16708 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16709 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16710 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16711 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16712 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16713 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16716 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16717 will be applied to each article.
16719 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16720 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16721 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16722 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16724 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16725 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16726 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16727 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16729 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16730 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16731 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16732 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16734 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16735 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16736 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16737 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16738 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16739 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16741 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16742 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16743 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16744 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16745 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16746 aspirins afterwards.)
16748 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16749 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16750 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16752 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16753 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16754 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16756 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16757 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16758 let you use different rules in different groups.
16760 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16761 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16762 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16765 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16766 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16767 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16768 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16769 the length of the match is less than
16770 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16771 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16774 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16775 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16776 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16777 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16778 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16781 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16782 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16783 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16784 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16785 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16788 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16789 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16790 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
16791 score with 30 points.
16793 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
16794 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16795 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16796 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16797 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16799 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
16800 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
16801 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
16802 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
16803 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
16805 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16806 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16807 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16808 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16810 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16811 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16812 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16813 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16815 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16816 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16817 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16818 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16819 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16821 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16822 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16823 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16825 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16826 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16827 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16828 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16831 @node Home Score File
16832 @section Home Score File
16834 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16835 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16836 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16837 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16839 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16840 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16841 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16843 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16844 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16849 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16853 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16854 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16858 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16862 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16863 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
16866 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16867 the home score file.
16870 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16873 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16878 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16881 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16882 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16885 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16886 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16888 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16890 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16891 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16894 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16895 Other functions include
16898 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16899 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16900 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16901 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16905 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16906 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16907 their own home score files:
16910 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16911 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16912 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16913 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16914 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16917 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16918 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16919 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16920 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16921 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16923 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16924 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16925 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16926 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16927 precedence over this variable.
16930 @node Followups To Yourself
16931 @section Followups To Yourself
16933 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16934 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16935 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16936 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16937 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16938 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16942 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16943 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16944 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16947 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16948 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16949 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16953 @vindex message-sent-hook
16954 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16955 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
16957 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
16961 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16962 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16966 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16967 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16970 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16971 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16976 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
16980 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16981 is system-dependent.
16984 @node Scoring On Other Headers
16985 @section Scoring On Other Headers
16986 @cindex scoring on other headers
16988 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
16989 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
16990 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
16991 that Gnus has to request every single article from the backend to find
16992 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
16994 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
16995 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
16996 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
16997 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
16998 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
17000 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17003 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
17004 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
17007 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
17008 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
17009 time if you have much mail.
17011 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
17012 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
17018 @section Scoring Tips
17019 @cindex scoring tips
17025 @cindex scoring crossposts
17026 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
17027 the @code{Xref} header.
17029 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
17032 @item Multiple crossposts
17033 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
17034 more than, say, 3 groups:
17037 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
17041 @item Matching on the body
17042 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
17043 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
17044 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
17045 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
17046 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
17047 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
17048 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
17051 @item Marking as read
17052 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
17053 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
17054 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
17058 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
17060 @item Negated character classes
17061 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
17062 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
17063 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
17067 @node Reverse Scoring
17068 @section Reverse Scoring
17069 @cindex reverse scoring
17071 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
17072 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
17073 like this in your score file:
17077 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
17082 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
17083 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
17086 @node Global Score Files
17087 @section Global Score Files
17088 @cindex global score files
17090 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
17091 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
17092 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
17094 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
17095 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
17096 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
17098 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
17099 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
17100 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
17101 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
17102 files are applicable to which group.
17104 To use the score file
17105 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
17106 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
17110 (setq gnus-global-score-files
17111 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
17112 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
17115 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
17117 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
17118 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
17119 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
17120 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
17122 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
17123 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
17125 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
17126 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
17127 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
17128 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
17129 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
17130 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
17132 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
17138 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
17140 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
17142 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
17144 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
17145 lowered out of existence.
17147 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
17148 articles completely.
17151 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
17152 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
17153 old articles for a long time.
17156 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
17157 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
17158 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
17159 holding our breath yet?
17163 @section Kill Files
17166 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
17167 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
17168 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
17170 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
17171 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
17172 files into score files.
17174 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
17175 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
17176 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
17177 that isn't a very good idea.
17179 Normal kill files look like this:
17182 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17183 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
17187 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
17188 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
17190 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
17191 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
17194 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
17199 @kindex M-k (Summary)
17200 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
17201 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
17204 @kindex M-K (Summary)
17205 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
17206 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
17209 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
17214 @kindex M-k (Group)
17215 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
17216 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
17219 @kindex M-K (Group)
17220 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
17221 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
17224 Kill file variables:
17227 @item gnus-kill-file-name
17228 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
17229 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
17230 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
17231 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
17232 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
17233 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
17235 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17236 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
17237 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
17238 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
17241 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
17242 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
17243 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
17244 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
17245 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
17246 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
17247 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
17248 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
17249 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
17251 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17252 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
17253 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
17258 @node Converting Kill Files
17259 @section Converting Kill Files
17261 @cindex converting kill files
17263 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
17264 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
17265 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
17268 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
17269 You can fetch it from
17270 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
17272 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
17273 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
17274 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
17282 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
17283 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
17284 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
17286 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
17287 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
17288 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
17289 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
17290 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
17291 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
17292 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
17293 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
17297 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
17298 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
17299 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
17300 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
17304 @node Using GroupLens
17305 @subsection Using GroupLens
17307 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
17309 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
17310 better bit in town at the moment.
17312 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
17316 @item gnus-use-grouplens
17317 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
17318 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
17319 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
17321 @item grouplens-pseudonym
17322 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
17323 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
17324 with the Better Bit Bureau.
17326 @item grouplens-newsgroups
17327 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
17328 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
17332 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
17333 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
17334 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
17335 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
17336 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
17337 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
17340 @node Rating Articles
17341 @subsection Rating Articles
17343 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
17344 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
17345 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
17346 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
17349 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
17354 @kindex r (GroupLens)
17355 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
17356 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
17359 @kindex k (GroupLens)
17360 @findex grouplens-score-thread
17361 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
17362 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
17363 threads in rec.humor.
17367 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
17368 the score of the article you're reading.
17373 @kindex n (GroupLens)
17374 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
17375 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
17378 @kindex , (GroupLens)
17379 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
17380 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
17384 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
17385 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
17388 @node Displaying Predictions
17389 @subsection Displaying Predictions
17391 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
17392 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
17393 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
17394 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
17395 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
17397 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
17398 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
17399 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
17400 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
17401 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
17402 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
17403 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
17404 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
17405 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
17406 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
17407 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
17408 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
17409 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
17411 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
17412 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
17413 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
17414 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
17416 The following are valid values for that variable.
17419 @item prediction-spot
17420 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
17423 @item confidence-interval
17424 A numeric confidence interval.
17426 @item prediction-bar
17427 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
17429 @item confidence-bar
17430 Numerical confidence.
17432 @item confidence-spot
17433 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
17435 @item prediction-num
17436 Plain-old numeric value.
17438 @item confidence-plus-minus
17439 Prediction +/- confidence.
17444 @node GroupLens Variables
17445 @subsection GroupLens Variables
17449 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
17450 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
17451 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
17452 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
17455 @item grouplens-bbb-host
17456 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
17459 @item grouplens-bbb-port
17460 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
17462 @item grouplens-score-offset
17463 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
17464 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
17467 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
17468 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
17469 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
17474 @node Advanced Scoring
17475 @section Advanced Scoring
17477 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
17478 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
17479 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
17480 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
17481 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
17483 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
17487 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
17488 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
17489 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
17493 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
17494 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
17496 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
17497 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
17498 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
17499 non-@code{nil} value.
17501 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
17502 operator, and various match operators.
17509 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17510 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
17511 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
17516 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
17517 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
17518 then this operator will return @code{false}.
17523 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
17524 logical negation of the value of its argument.
17528 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
17529 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
17530 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
17531 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
17532 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
17533 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
17534 the ancestry you want to go.
17536 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
17537 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
17538 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
17539 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
17540 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
17543 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
17544 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
17546 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
17547 when he's talking about Gnus:
17551 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17552 ("subject" "Gnus"))
17558 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
17562 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17569 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
17570 really don't want to read what he's written:
17574 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
17575 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
17579 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
17580 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
17581 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
17588 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
17589 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
17590 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
17591 ("body" "white.*socks"))
17595 The possibilities are endless.
17598 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
17599 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
17601 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
17602 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
17603 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
17604 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
17605 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
17606 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
17607 @samp{subject}) first.
17609 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
17610 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
17621 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
17622 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
17628 ("subject" "Gnus")))
17635 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
17636 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
17641 @section Score Decays
17642 @cindex score decays
17645 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
17646 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
17647 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
17648 use them in any sensible way.
17650 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
17651 @findex gnus-decay-score
17652 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
17653 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
17654 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
17655 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
17656 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
17657 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
17658 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
17659 definition of that function:
17662 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
17664 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
17665 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
17668 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
17670 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
17672 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
17675 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
17676 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
17677 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
17678 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
17682 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
17685 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
17688 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
17692 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
17693 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
17694 the new score, which should be an integer.
17696 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
17697 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
17704 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
17705 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
17706 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
17707 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
17708 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
17709 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17710 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17711 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17712 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17713 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17714 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17715 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17716 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17717 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17718 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17719 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17720 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17721 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17725 @node Process/Prefix
17726 @section Process/Prefix
17727 @cindex process/prefix convention
17729 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17730 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17732 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17733 command to be performed on.
17737 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17738 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17739 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17740 with the current one.
17742 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17743 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17744 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17746 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17747 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17750 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17751 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17753 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17756 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17757 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17758 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17759 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17761 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17762 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17763 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17764 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17765 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17766 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17767 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17768 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17770 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17771 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17772 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17773 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17774 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17778 @section Interactive
17779 @cindex interaction
17783 @item gnus-novice-user
17784 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17785 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17786 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
17787 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
17788 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
17791 @item gnus-expert-user
17792 @vindex gnus-expert-user
17793 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
17794 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
17795 matter how strange.
17797 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
17798 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
17799 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
17800 is @code{t} by default.
17802 @item gnus-interactive-exit
17803 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
17804 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17809 @node Symbolic Prefixes
17810 @section Symbolic Prefixes
17811 @cindex symbolic prefixes
17813 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
17814 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
17815 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
17816 rule of 900 to the current article.
17818 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
17819 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
17820 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
17821 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
17822 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
17823 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
17824 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
17826 @kindex M-i (Summary)
17827 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
17828 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
17829 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
17830 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
17831 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
17832 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
17833 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
17834 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
17836 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
17837 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
17838 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
17840 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17844 @node Formatting Variables
17845 @section Formatting Variables
17846 @cindex formatting variables
17848 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17849 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17850 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17851 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17852 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17855 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17856 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17857 lots of percentages everywhere.
17860 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17861 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17862 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17863 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17864 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17865 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
17866 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
17867 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
17870 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17871 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17872 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17873 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17874 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17875 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17876 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17877 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17879 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17880 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17882 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17883 @findex gnus-update-format
17884 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17885 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17886 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17887 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17891 @node Formatting Basics
17892 @subsection Formatting Basics
17894 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17895 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17896 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17898 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17899 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17900 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17901 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17902 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17905 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17906 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17907 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17908 less than 4 characters wide.
17911 @node Mode Line Formatting
17912 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17914 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17915 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17916 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17917 with the following two differences:
17922 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17925 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17926 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17927 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17928 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17929 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17930 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17931 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17936 @node Advanced Formatting
17937 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17939 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17940 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17941 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17942 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17944 These are the valid modifiers:
17949 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17953 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17958 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17961 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17966 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17969 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17972 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17975 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17979 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17980 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17981 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17982 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17983 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17984 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17985 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17987 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17988 last operation, padding.
17990 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
17991 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
17992 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
17993 @xref{Compilation}.
17996 @node User-Defined Specs
17997 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17999 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
18000 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
18001 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
18002 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
18003 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
18004 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
18005 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
18006 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
18007 should protect against that.
18009 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
18010 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
18011 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
18012 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
18016 @node Formatting Fonts
18017 @subsection Formatting Fonts
18019 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
18020 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
18021 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
18022 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
18025 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
18026 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
18027 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
18028 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
18029 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
18030 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
18032 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
18033 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
18034 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
18035 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
18036 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
18037 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
18038 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
18039 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
18041 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
18044 ;; Create three face types.
18045 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
18046 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
18048 ;; We want the article count to be in
18049 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
18050 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
18051 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
18053 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
18054 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
18056 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
18057 (setq gnus-group-line-format
18058 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
18061 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
18062 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
18064 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
18065 mode-line variables.
18067 @node Positioning Point
18068 @subsection Positioning Point
18070 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
18071 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
18072 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
18074 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
18076 @findex gnus-goto-colon
18077 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
18078 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
18080 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
18081 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
18082 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
18087 @subsection Tabulation
18089 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
18090 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
18091 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
18092 about lining up the following text afterwards.
18094 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
18095 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
18097 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18098 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
18099 This is the soft tabulator.
18101 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
18102 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
18103 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
18106 @node Wide Characters
18107 @subsection Wide Characters
18109 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
18110 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
18111 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
18113 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
18114 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
18115 these coutries, that's not true.
18117 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
18118 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
18119 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
18120 prettieer. The default value is @code{nil}.
18124 @node Window Layout
18125 @section Window Layout
18126 @cindex window layout
18128 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
18130 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
18131 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
18132 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
18133 @code{t} by default.
18135 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
18136 glitches. Use at your own peril.
18138 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
18139 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
18140 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
18143 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
18144 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
18145 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18149 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
18150 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
18151 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
18152 possible names is listed below.
18154 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
18155 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
18158 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
18162 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
18163 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
18164 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
18165 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
18166 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
18167 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
18168 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
18169 size spec per split.
18171 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
18172 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
18173 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
18174 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
18175 present) gets focus.
18177 Here's a more complicated example:
18180 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
18181 (summary 0.25 point)
18182 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
18186 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
18187 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
18188 occupy, not a percentage.
18190 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
18191 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
18192 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
18193 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
18194 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
18197 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
18200 (article (horizontal 1.0
18205 (summary 0.25 point)
18210 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
18211 @code{horizontal} thingie?
18213 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
18214 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
18215 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
18216 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
18217 the screen is to be given to this strip.
18219 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
18220 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
18221 lines from the splits.
18223 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
18227 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
18228 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
18229 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
18230 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
18231 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
18232 size = number | frame-params
18233 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
18236 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
18237 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
18238 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
18239 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
18241 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
18242 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
18243 @cindex window height
18244 @cindex window width
18245 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
18246 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
18247 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
18248 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
18249 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
18250 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
18252 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
18253 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
18254 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
18255 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
18257 @findex gnus-configure-frame
18258 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
18259 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
18260 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
18261 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
18262 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
18263 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
18264 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
18265 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
18266 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
18267 configuration list.
18270 (gnus-configure-frame
18274 (article 0.3 point))
18282 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
18283 @code{frame} split:
18286 (gnus-configure-frame
18289 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
18291 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
18292 (user-position . t)
18293 (left . -1) (top . 1))
18298 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
18299 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
18300 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
18301 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
18302 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
18303 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
18304 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
18305 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
18307 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
18308 be found in its default value.
18310 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
18311 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
18312 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
18316 (message (horizontal 1.0
18317 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
18319 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
18324 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
18325 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
18326 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
18331 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
18332 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
18333 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
18334 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
18335 (name . "Message"))
18336 (message 1.0 point))))
18339 @findex gnus-add-configuration
18340 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
18341 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
18342 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
18343 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
18346 (gnus-add-configuration
18347 '(article (vertical 1.0
18349 (summary .25 point)
18353 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
18354 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
18355 Gnus has been loaded.
18357 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
18358 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
18359 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
18360 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
18361 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
18363 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
18364 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
18365 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
18368 @subsection Example Window Configurations
18372 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
18373 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
18388 (gnus-add-configuration
18391 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18393 (summary 0.16 point)
18396 (gnus-add-configuration
18399 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
18400 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
18406 @node Faces and Fonts
18407 @section Faces and Fonts
18412 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
18413 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
18414 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
18419 @section Compilation
18420 @cindex compilation
18421 @cindex byte-compilation
18423 @findex gnus-compile
18425 Remember all those line format specification variables?
18426 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
18427 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
18428 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
18429 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
18430 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
18433 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
18434 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
18435 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
18436 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
18437 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
18438 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
18439 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
18443 @section Mode Lines
18446 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
18447 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
18448 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
18449 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
18450 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
18451 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
18452 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
18455 @cindex display-time
18457 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
18458 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
18459 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
18460 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
18461 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
18462 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
18463 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
18464 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
18467 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
18469 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
18470 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
18472 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
18473 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
18474 (length display-time-string)))))
18477 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
18478 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
18479 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
18480 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
18481 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
18484 @node Highlighting and Menus
18485 @section Highlighting and Menus
18487 @cindex highlighting
18490 @vindex gnus-visual
18491 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
18492 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
18493 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
18496 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
18497 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
18500 @item group-highlight
18501 Do highlights in the group buffer.
18502 @item summary-highlight
18503 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
18504 @item article-highlight
18505 Do highlights in the article buffer.
18507 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
18509 Create menus in the group buffer.
18511 Create menus in the summary buffers.
18513 Create menus in the article buffer.
18515 Create menus in the browse buffer.
18517 Create menus in the server buffer.
18519 Create menus in the score buffers.
18521 Create menus in all buffers.
18524 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
18525 buffers, you could say something like:
18528 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
18531 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
18534 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
18537 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
18538 in all Gnus buffers.
18540 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
18543 @item gnus-mouse-face
18544 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
18545 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
18546 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
18550 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
18554 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
18555 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
18556 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
18558 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
18559 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
18560 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
18562 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
18563 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
18564 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
18566 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
18567 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
18568 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
18570 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
18571 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
18572 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
18574 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
18575 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
18576 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
18587 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
18588 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
18589 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
18590 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
18591 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
18595 @vindex gnus-carpal
18596 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
18597 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
18598 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
18603 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18604 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
18605 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
18607 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
18608 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
18609 Face used on buttons.
18611 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
18612 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
18613 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
18615 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18616 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
18617 Buttons in the group buffer.
18619 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18620 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
18621 Buttons in the summary buffer.
18623 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18624 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
18625 Buttons in the server buffer.
18627 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18628 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
18629 Buttons in the browse buffer.
18632 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
18633 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
18634 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
18642 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
18643 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
18644 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
18645 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
18646 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
18648 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
18649 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
18650 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
18652 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
18653 been idle for thirty minutes:
18656 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
18659 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
18663 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
18666 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
18667 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
18668 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18670 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
18671 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
18672 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
18673 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
18675 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
18676 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
18677 @var{idle} minutes.
18679 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
18680 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
18683 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
18684 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
18685 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
18687 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
18688 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
18689 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
18690 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
18692 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
18693 your @file{.gnus} file:
18695 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
18697 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
18700 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
18701 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
18702 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
18703 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
18704 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
18705 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
18706 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
18707 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
18708 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
18709 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
18710 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
18712 @findex gnus-demon-init
18713 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
18714 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
18715 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
18716 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
18717 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
18719 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
18720 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
18721 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
18730 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
18731 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
18733 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
18734 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
18735 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
18736 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
18739 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
18740 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
18741 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
18742 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
18744 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
18745 this will make spam disappear.
18747 There are some variables to customize, of course:
18750 @item gnus-use-nocem
18751 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
18752 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
18755 @item gnus-nocem-groups
18756 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
18757 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
18758 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18759 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18761 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18762 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18763 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18764 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18765 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18766 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
18768 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
18769 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
18771 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
18772 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
18773 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
18774 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
18775 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
18776 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
18777 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
18778 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
18779 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
18780 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18782 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18783 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18786 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
18789 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
18790 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
18793 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
18796 The specs are applied left-to-right.
18799 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
18800 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
18802 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
18803 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
18804 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
18805 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
18807 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
18808 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
18811 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
18813 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
18821 This might be dangerous, though.
18823 @item gnus-nocem-directory
18824 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
18825 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
18826 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
18828 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18829 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18830 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
18831 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
18832 might then see old spam.
18834 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
18835 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
18836 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
18837 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
18838 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
18841 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18842 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18843 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
18844 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
18848 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
18849 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
18850 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
18851 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
18858 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
18859 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
18860 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
18862 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
18863 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
18864 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
18865 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
18866 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
18867 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
18868 @code{undo} function.
18870 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
18871 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
18872 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
18873 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
18874 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
18875 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
18876 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
18877 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
18878 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
18879 never be totally undoable.
18881 @findex gnus-undo-mode
18882 @vindex gnus-use-undo
18884 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
18885 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
18886 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
18887 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
18892 @section Moderation
18895 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
18896 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
18897 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
18900 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18904 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18907 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18909 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18914 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18915 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18916 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18919 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18920 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18923 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18924 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18928 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18931 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18932 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18936 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18937 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18940 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18944 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18945 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18946 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18947 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18960 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18961 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18962 over your shoulder as you read news.
18965 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18966 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18967 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18968 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18969 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18974 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18976 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18985 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18986 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18987 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18988 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18989 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18990 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18991 @code{GIF} formats.
18994 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18995 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18996 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18997 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18998 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
19000 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19001 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
19002 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
19003 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
19004 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
19005 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19008 @node Picon Requirements
19009 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
19011 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
19012 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
19015 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
19016 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
19017 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
19019 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19020 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
19021 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
19022 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
19023 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
19027 @subsubsection Easy Picons
19029 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
19030 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
19033 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
19034 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
19037 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
19038 containing the Picons databases.
19040 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
19043 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19044 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
19049 @subsubsection Hard Picons
19057 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
19058 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
19059 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
19060 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
19061 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
19066 @item gnus-picons-database
19067 @vindex gnus-picons-database
19068 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
19069 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
19070 subdirectories. This is only useful if
19071 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
19072 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
19074 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19075 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
19076 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
19077 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
19078 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
19079 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
19080 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
19082 @item gnus-picons-display-where
19083 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19084 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
19085 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
19086 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
19087 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
19088 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
19089 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
19091 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19092 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
19093 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
19098 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
19099 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
19101 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
19102 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
19105 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
19107 @item gnus-article-display-picons
19108 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19109 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
19110 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
19112 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
19113 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
19114 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
19120 @node Picon Useless Configuration
19121 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
19129 The following variables offer further control over how things are
19130 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
19131 don't need to worry about.
19135 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
19136 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
19137 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19138 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
19140 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
19141 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
19142 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
19143 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
19145 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
19146 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
19147 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
19148 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
19149 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
19151 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19152 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
19153 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
19154 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
19155 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
19156 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
19157 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
19159 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19160 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
19161 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
19162 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
19164 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19165 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
19166 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
19167 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
19168 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
19169 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
19170 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
19172 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19173 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
19174 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
19175 Defaults to @code{nil}.
19177 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
19178 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
19179 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
19180 Defaults to @code{t}.
19182 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19183 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
19184 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
19185 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
19187 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
19188 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
19189 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
19191 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19192 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
19193 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
19194 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
19196 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
19197 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
19199 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19200 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
19201 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
19202 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
19203 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
19204 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
19205 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
19206 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
19217 @subsection Smileys
19222 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
19227 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
19228 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
19230 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
19231 @file{.gnus.el} file:
19234 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
19237 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
19238 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
19239 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
19240 text and maps that to file names.
19242 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
19243 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
19244 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
19245 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
19246 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
19247 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
19249 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
19250 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
19252 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
19253 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
19254 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
19256 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
19257 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
19261 @item smiley-data-directory
19262 @vindex smiley-data-directory
19263 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
19265 @item smiley-flesh-color
19266 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
19267 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
19269 @item smiley-features-color
19270 @vindex smiley-features-color
19271 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19273 @item smiley-tongue-color
19274 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
19275 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
19277 @item smiley-circle-color
19278 @vindex smiley-circle-color
19279 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
19281 @item smiley-mouse-face
19282 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
19283 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
19289 @subsection Toolbar
19299 @item gnus-use-toolbar
19300 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
19301 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
19302 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
19303 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
19305 @item gnus-group-toolbar
19306 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
19307 The toolbar in the group buffer.
19309 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
19310 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
19311 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
19313 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19314 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
19315 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
19321 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
19324 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19325 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
19326 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
19327 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
19328 unusual directory structure.
19330 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19331 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
19332 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
19333 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
19335 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19336 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
19337 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
19338 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
19339 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
19340 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
19342 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19343 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
19344 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
19358 @node Fuzzy Matching
19359 @section Fuzzy Matching
19360 @cindex fuzzy matching
19362 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
19363 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
19365 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
19366 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
19367 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
19369 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
19370 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
19371 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
19372 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
19373 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
19376 @node Thwarting Email Spam
19377 @section Thwarting Email Spam
19381 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
19383 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
19384 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
19385 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
19386 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
19387 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
19388 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
19389 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
19390 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
19393 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
19394 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
19395 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
19396 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
19397 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
19398 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
19402 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
19403 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
19405 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
19406 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
19407 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
19408 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
19409 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
19410 part of the mail address.)
19413 (setq message-default-news-headers
19414 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
19417 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
19418 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
19423 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
19424 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
19425 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
19431 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
19432 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
19433 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
19434 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
19436 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
19437 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
19438 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
19439 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
19440 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
19441 your fancy split rule in this way:
19446 (to "larsi" "misc")
19450 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
19451 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
19452 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
19453 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
19454 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
19456 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
19457 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
19458 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
19459 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
19460 cosmic balance somewhat.
19462 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
19463 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
19464 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
19465 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
19468 @node Various Various
19469 @section Various Various
19475 @item gnus-home-directory
19476 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
19477 defaults to @file{~/}.
19479 @item gnus-directory
19480 @vindex gnus-directory
19481 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
19482 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
19483 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
19485 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
19486 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
19487 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
19488 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
19490 @item gnus-default-directory
19491 @vindex gnus-default-directory
19492 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
19493 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
19494 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
19495 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
19496 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
19497 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
19500 @vindex gnus-verbose
19501 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
19502 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
19503 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
19504 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
19505 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
19507 @item gnus-verbose-backends
19508 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
19509 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
19510 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
19512 @item nnheader-max-head-length
19513 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
19514 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
19515 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
19516 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
19517 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
19518 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
19519 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
19520 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
19521 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
19523 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
19524 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
19525 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
19526 read when doing the operation described above.
19528 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19529 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19531 @cindex invalid characters in file names
19532 @cindex characters in file names
19533 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
19534 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
19535 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
19538 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
19542 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
19543 Windows (phooey) systems.
19545 @item gnus-hidden-properties
19546 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
19547 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
19548 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
19549 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
19551 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
19552 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
19553 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
19554 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
19555 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
19557 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
19558 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
19559 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
19561 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19562 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
19564 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
19565 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
19566 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
19567 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
19570 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
19579 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
19580 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
19582 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
19584 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
19590 Not because of victories @*
19593 but for the common sunshine,@*
19595 the largess of the spring.
19599 but for the day's work done@*
19600 as well as I was able;@*
19601 not for a seat upon the dais@*
19602 but at the common table.@*
19607 @chapter Appendices
19610 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
19611 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
19612 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
19613 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
19614 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
19615 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
19616 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
19617 * Frequently Asked Questions::
19625 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
19626 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
19628 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
19629 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
19630 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
19631 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
19632 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
19634 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
19635 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
19636 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
19637 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
19638 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
19639 appropriate name, don't you think?)
19641 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
19642 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
19643 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
19644 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
19647 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
19648 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
19649 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
19650 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
19651 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
19652 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
19653 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
19654 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
19655 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
19659 @node Gnus Versions
19660 @subsection Gnus Versions
19661 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
19663 @cindex September Gnus
19664 @cindex Quassia Gnus
19666 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
19667 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
19668 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
19670 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
19671 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
19673 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
19674 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
19676 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
19677 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
19679 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
19680 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
19683 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
19685 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
19686 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
19687 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
19688 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
19689 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
19690 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
19693 @node Other Gnus Versions
19694 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
19697 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
19698 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
19699 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
19700 @sc{mime} capabilities.
19702 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
19703 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
19704 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
19705 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
19712 What's the point of Gnus?
19714 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
19715 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
19716 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
19717 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
19718 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
19719 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
19720 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
19721 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
19722 keep track of millions of people who post?
19724 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
19725 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
19726 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
19727 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
19728 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
19729 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
19730 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
19731 every one of you to explore and invent.
19733 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
19734 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
19737 @node Compatibility
19738 @subsection Compatibility
19740 @cindex compatibility
19741 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
19742 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
19743 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
19748 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
19752 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
19755 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19758 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19759 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19760 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19761 important variables have their values copied into their global
19762 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19763 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19765 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19766 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19767 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19768 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19769 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19773 @cindex highlighting
19774 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
19775 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
19776 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
19777 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
19778 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
19779 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19782 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19783 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19784 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19785 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19787 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19788 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19789 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
19790 to stop doing it the old way.
19792 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
19794 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19796 @cindex reporting bugs
19798 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
19799 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
19800 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
19802 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
19803 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
19804 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
19805 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
19810 @subsection Conformity
19812 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
19813 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
19820 There are no known breaches of this standard.
19824 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
19826 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
19827 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
19828 We do have some breaches to this one.
19834 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
19835 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
19836 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
19837 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
19838 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
19843 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
19844 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
19845 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
19846 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
19850 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
19851 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
19856 @subsection Emacsen
19862 Gnus should work on :
19870 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
19874 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
19875 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
19878 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
19879 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
19880 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
19884 @node Gnus Development
19885 @subsection Gnus Development
19887 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
19888 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
19889 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
19890 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
19891 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
19892 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
19893 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
19894 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
19896 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
19897 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
19898 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
19899 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
19900 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19903 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19904 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19905 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19906 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19907 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19909 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19910 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19911 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19912 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19913 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19914 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19915 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19916 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19917 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
19918 can't be assumed to do so.
19923 @subsection Contributors
19924 @cindex contributors
19926 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19927 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19928 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19929 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19930 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19931 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19932 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19933 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19934 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19935 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19937 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19943 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19946 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19947 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19948 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19949 functionality and stuff.
19952 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19953 well as numerous other things).
19956 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19959 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19962 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19965 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19966 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19969 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19972 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19973 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19976 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19979 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19982 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19985 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19988 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19989 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19992 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19995 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19998 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
20001 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
20005 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
20008 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
20011 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
20014 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
20015 well as autoconf support.
20019 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
20020 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
20022 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
20031 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
20035 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
20045 Alexei V. Barantsev,
20060 Massimo Campostrini,
20065 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
20066 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
20070 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
20073 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
20079 Michael Welsh Duggan,
20084 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
20088 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
20096 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
20098 Michelangelo Grigni,
20102 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
20104 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
20106 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
20113 François Felix Ingrand,
20114 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
20115 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
20117 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
20128 Peter Skov Knudsen,
20129 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
20131 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
20132 Thor Kristoffersen,
20135 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
20153 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
20154 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
20161 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
20166 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
20170 John McClary Prevost,
20176 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
20181 Christian von Roques,
20184 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
20191 Philippe Schnoebelen,
20193 Randal L. Schwartz,
20207 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
20212 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
20228 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
20233 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
20234 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
20235 (550kB and counting).
20237 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
20240 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
20241 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
20245 @subsection New Features
20246 @cindex new features
20249 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
20250 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
20251 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
20252 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
20253 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
20256 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
20257 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
20258 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
20261 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
20263 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
20268 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
20269 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
20272 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
20273 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
20276 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
20279 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
20280 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
20281 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
20284 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
20285 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
20286 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
20287 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20290 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
20291 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20294 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
20295 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
20296 (@pxref{The Active File}).
20299 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
20300 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
20303 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
20304 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
20305 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20308 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
20309 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
20310 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
20313 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
20314 the @file{.emacs} file.
20317 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
20318 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
20321 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
20322 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
20325 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
20326 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20329 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
20330 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
20333 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
20334 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20337 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
20340 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
20341 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
20344 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
20345 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
20348 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
20349 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
20352 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
20355 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
20356 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20359 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
20363 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
20367 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
20368 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
20371 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
20377 @node September Gnus
20378 @subsubsection September Gnus
20382 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
20386 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
20391 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
20392 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
20396 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
20397 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
20401 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
20405 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
20406 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
20409 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
20413 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
20416 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
20419 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
20422 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
20426 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
20427 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
20430 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
20434 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
20438 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
20442 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
20446 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
20449 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
20450 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
20453 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
20457 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
20458 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
20461 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
20464 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
20465 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
20466 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
20469 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
20473 The Gnus cache is much faster.
20476 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
20480 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
20481 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
20484 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
20485 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
20488 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
20489 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20492 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
20493 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
20494 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
20497 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
20498 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
20501 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
20504 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20507 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
20510 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
20513 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
20514 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
20517 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
20521 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
20524 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
20529 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
20532 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
20536 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
20539 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
20543 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
20546 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
20549 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
20550 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
20553 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
20554 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
20558 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
20559 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
20562 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
20566 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
20567 buffer to allow easier treatment.
20570 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
20573 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
20577 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
20581 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
20582 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
20585 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
20589 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
20590 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
20593 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
20594 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20597 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
20601 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
20604 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
20607 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
20613 @subsubsection Red Gnus
20615 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
20619 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
20626 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
20629 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
20630 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
20633 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
20634 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
20638 Article washing status can be displayed in the
20639 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
20642 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
20645 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
20646 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
20649 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
20653 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
20654 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
20658 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
20659 Server Internals}).
20662 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
20666 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
20669 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
20670 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
20673 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
20674 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
20675 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
20678 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
20679 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20682 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
20683 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
20686 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
20690 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
20691 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20694 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
20695 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
20698 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
20702 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
20705 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
20709 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
20710 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
20713 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
20714 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
20717 A new command for reading collections of documents
20718 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
20719 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
20722 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
20726 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
20727 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
20730 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
20731 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
20732 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
20735 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
20736 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
20740 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
20744 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
20748 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
20753 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20757 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20761 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20762 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20765 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
20771 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
20773 New features in Gnus 5.6:
20778 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
20779 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
20780 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20783 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
20784 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20785 group, which is created automatically.
20788 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
20792 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
20795 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
20796 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
20799 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
20803 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
20806 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
20807 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
20810 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
20813 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
20814 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
20817 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
20818 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
20821 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
20822 control over simplification.
20825 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
20828 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
20832 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
20835 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
20838 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
20839 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
20840 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
20843 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
20844 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
20847 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
20851 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
20852 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
20855 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
20856 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
20859 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
20863 A history of where mails have been split is available.
20866 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
20869 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
20870 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
20873 A new function for citing in Message has been
20874 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
20877 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
20880 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
20884 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
20885 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
20888 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
20889 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
20892 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
20895 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
20899 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
20900 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
20902 New features in Gnus 5.8:
20906 @item The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
20907 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
20909 If you used procmail like in
20912 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
20913 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
20914 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
20915 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
20918 this now has changed to
20922 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
20926 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
20927 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
20929 @item Gnus is now a MIME-capable reader. This affects many parts of
20930 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
20932 @item Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
20933 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
20935 @item @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
20936 called to position point.
20938 @item The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
20939 summary buffers and NOV files.
20941 @item @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
20942 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
20944 @item The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
20945 subtly different manner.
20947 @item New web-based backends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
20948 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
20949 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
20951 @item Gnus can now read IMAP mail via @code{nnimap}.
20959 @section The Manual
20963 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20964 either @code{texi2dvi}
20966 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20967 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20969 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20971 The following conventions have been used:
20976 This is a @samp{string}
20979 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20982 This is a @file{file}
20985 This is a @code{symbol}
20989 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20993 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20996 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20999 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21002 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21003 ever get them confused.
21007 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21008 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21009 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21010 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21011 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21012 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21013 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21019 @node On Writing Manuals
21020 @section On Writing Manuals
21022 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21023 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21024 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21025 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21026 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21027 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21030 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21031 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21032 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21035 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21036 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21041 @section Terminology
21043 @cindex terminology
21048 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21049 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21050 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21051 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21052 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21056 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21057 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21058 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21059 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21063 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21067 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21072 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21073 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21074 is all done by the backends.
21078 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21079 default, way of getting news.
21083 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21084 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21089 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21090 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21094 A message that has been posted as news.
21097 @cindex mail message
21098 A message that has been mailed.
21102 A mail message or news article
21106 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21111 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21116 A line from the head of an article.
21120 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21121 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21125 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21126 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21127 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21128 normal @sc{head} format.
21132 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21133 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21134 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21135 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21136 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21137 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21139 @item killed groups
21140 @cindex killed groups
21141 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21142 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21144 @item zombie groups
21145 @cindex zombie groups
21146 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21149 @cindex active file
21150 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21151 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21152 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21155 @cindex bogus groups
21156 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21157 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21158 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21161 @cindex activating groups
21162 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21163 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21164 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21168 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21170 @item select method
21171 @cindex select method
21172 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21175 @item virtual server
21176 @cindex virtual server
21177 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21178 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21179 whole is a virtual server.
21183 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21184 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21187 @item ephemeral groups
21188 @cindex ephemeral groups
21189 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21190 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21191 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21194 @cindex solid groups
21195 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21196 group buffer are solid groups.
21198 @item sparse articles
21199 @cindex sparse articles
21200 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21201 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21205 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21206 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21210 @cindex thread root
21211 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21212 articles in the thread.
21216 An article that has responses.
21220 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21224 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21225 specified by RFC 1153.
21231 @node Customization
21232 @section Customization
21233 @cindex general customization
21235 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21236 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21237 for some quite common situations.
21240 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21241 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21242 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21243 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21247 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21248 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21250 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21251 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21252 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21256 @item gnus-read-active-file
21257 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21258 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21259 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21260 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21261 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21263 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21264 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21265 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21266 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21270 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21271 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21273 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21274 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21275 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21279 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21280 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21281 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21282 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21283 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21285 @item gnus-visible-headers
21286 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21287 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21288 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21289 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21291 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21293 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21294 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21295 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21298 @item gnus-use-full-window
21299 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21300 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21301 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21302 want to read them anyway.
21304 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21305 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21308 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21309 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21310 lines, which might save some time.
21314 @node Little Disk Space
21315 @subsection Little Disk Space
21318 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21319 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21323 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21324 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21325 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21326 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21329 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21330 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21331 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21332 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21335 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21336 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21337 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21338 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21339 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21345 @subsection Slow Machine
21346 @cindex slow machine
21348 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21349 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21351 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21352 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21354 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21355 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21356 summary buffer faster.
21360 @node Troubleshooting
21361 @section Troubleshooting
21362 @cindex troubleshooting
21364 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21372 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21375 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21376 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21380 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21381 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21382 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21383 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21386 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21390 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21391 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21392 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21393 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21394 something like that.
21397 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21400 @cindex reporting bugs
21402 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21404 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21405 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21406 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21407 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21409 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21410 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21411 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21412 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21415 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21416 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21417 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21418 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21419 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21420 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21422 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21423 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21424 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21428 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
21429 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
21431 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21432 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21434 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21435 @cindex ding mailing list
21436 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21437 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21441 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21442 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21444 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21445 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21446 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21447 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21450 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21451 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21452 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21453 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21454 and general methods of operation.
21457 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21458 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21459 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21460 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21461 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21462 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21463 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21464 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21465 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21469 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21470 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21471 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21472 @cindex utility functions
21474 @cindex internal variables
21476 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21477 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21478 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21482 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21483 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21484 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21486 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21487 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21488 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21490 @item gnus-group-real-name
21491 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21492 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21495 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21496 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21497 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21498 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21500 @item gnus-get-info
21501 @findex gnus-get-info
21502 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21504 @item gnus-group-unread
21505 @findex gnus-group-unread
21506 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21510 @findex gnus-active
21511 The active entry for @var{group}.
21513 @item gnus-set-active
21514 @findex gnus-set-active
21515 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21517 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21518 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21519 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21522 @item gnus-continuum-version
21523 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21524 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21525 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21528 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21529 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21530 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21532 @item gnus-news-group-p
21533 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21534 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21536 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21537 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21538 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21540 @item gnus-server-to-method
21541 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21542 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21544 @item gnus-server-equal
21545 @findex gnus-server-equal
21546 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21548 @item gnus-group-native-p
21549 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21550 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21552 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21553 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21554 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21556 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21557 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21558 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21560 @item group-group-find-parameter
21561 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21562 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21563 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21565 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21566 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21567 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21569 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21570 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21571 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21573 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21574 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21575 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21576 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21579 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21583 @item gnus-read-method
21584 @findex gnus-read-method
21585 Prompts the user for a select method.
21590 @node Backend Interface
21591 @subsection Backend Interface
21593 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21594 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21595 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21596 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21597 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21598 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21600 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21601 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21602 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21603 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21604 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21605 been opened, the function should fail.
21607 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21608 name. Take this example:
21612 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21613 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21616 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21617 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21619 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21620 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21621 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21623 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21624 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21625 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21627 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21628 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21629 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21630 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21631 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21632 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21635 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21636 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21637 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21638 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21641 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
21642 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
21643 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
21644 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
21645 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
21646 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
21647 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
21648 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Backend Functions}.}
21649 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
21650 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
21652 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
21653 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
21654 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
21655 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
21656 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
21657 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
21658 of numbers as long as possible.
21660 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21663 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21666 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21667 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21668 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21669 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21670 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21671 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21675 @node Required Backend Functions
21676 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21680 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21682 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21683 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21684 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21685 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21687 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21688 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21689 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21690 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21692 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21693 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21694 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21695 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21696 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21697 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21698 number, do maximum fetches.
21700 Here's an example HEAD:
21703 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21704 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21705 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21706 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21707 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21708 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21709 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21711 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21712 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21713 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21717 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21718 these in the data buffer.
21720 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21724 head = error / valid-head
21725 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21726 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21727 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21728 header = <text> eol
21731 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21732 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21736 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21737 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21738 field = <text except TAB>
21741 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21745 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21747 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21748 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21750 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21751 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21752 server. In fact, it should do so.
21754 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21755 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21758 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21760 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21761 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21764 There should be no data returned.
21767 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21769 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21770 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21771 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21772 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21774 There should be no data returned.
21777 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21779 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21780 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21781 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21782 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21784 There should be no data returned.
21787 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21789 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21791 There should be no data returned.
21794 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21796 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21797 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21798 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21799 it would be nice if that were possible.
21801 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21802 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21803 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21804 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21805 into its article buffer.
21807 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21808 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21809 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21810 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21811 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21812 on successful article retrieval.
21815 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21817 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21818 making @var{group} the current group.
21820 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21823 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21826 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21829 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21830 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21831 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21832 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21833 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21834 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21835 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21836 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21839 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21840 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21841 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21845 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21847 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21848 a no-op on most backends.
21850 There should be no data returned.
21853 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21855 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21858 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21861 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21862 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21865 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21866 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21869 active-file = *active-line
21870 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21872 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21875 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21876 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21877 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21880 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21882 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21883 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21884 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21885 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21886 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21887 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21889 There should be no result data from this function.
21894 @node Optional Backend Functions
21895 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21899 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21901 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21902 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21903 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21905 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21906 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21907 former is in the same format as the data from
21908 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21909 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21912 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21916 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21918 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21919 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21920 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21921 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21922 should return the (altered) group info.
21924 There should be no result data from this function.
21927 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21929 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21930 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21931 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21932 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21933 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21934 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21935 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21936 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21938 There should be no result data from this function.
21941 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21943 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21944 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21945 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21946 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21947 propagate the mark information to the server.
21949 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21952 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21955 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
21956 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
21957 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
21958 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
21959 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
21960 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
21961 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your backend should, if
21962 possible, not limit itself to these.
21964 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21965 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21966 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21967 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21969 An example action list:
21972 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21973 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21974 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21977 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21978 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21980 There should be no result data from this function.
21982 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21984 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21985 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21986 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21987 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21988 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21990 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21991 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21992 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21995 There should be no result data from this function.
21998 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22000 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22001 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22002 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22003 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22004 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22005 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22006 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22008 There should be no result data from this function.
22011 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22013 The result data from this function should be a description of
22017 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22019 description = <text>
22022 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22024 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22025 groups available on the server.
22028 description-buffer = *description-line
22032 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22034 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22035 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22036 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22039 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22041 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22043 There should be no return data.
22046 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22048 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22049 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22050 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22051 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22052 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22055 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22058 There should be no result data returned.
22061 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22064 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22065 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22067 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22068 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22069 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22070 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22071 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22072 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22074 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22075 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22078 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22079 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22081 There should be no data returned.
22084 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22086 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22087 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22088 this function in short order.
22090 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22091 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22093 There should be no data returned.
22096 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22098 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22099 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22101 There should be no data returned.
22104 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22106 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22107 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22108 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22110 There should be no data returned.
22113 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22115 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22116 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22118 There should be no data returned.
22123 @node Error Messaging
22124 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22126 @findex nnheader-report
22127 @findex nnheader-get-report
22128 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22129 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22130 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22131 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22132 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22133 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22136 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22138 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22141 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22142 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22143 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22144 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22146 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22147 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22148 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22151 @node Writing New Backends
22152 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22154 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22155 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22156 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22157 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22158 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22161 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22162 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22163 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22165 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22166 package called @code{nnoo}.
22168 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22169 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22175 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22176 parameters. For instance:
22179 (nnoo-declare nndir
22183 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22184 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22187 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22188 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22189 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22191 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22192 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22193 a function in those backends.
22196 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22197 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22198 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22201 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22202 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22203 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22205 @item nnoo-define-basics
22206 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22210 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22214 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22215 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22216 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22218 @item nnoo-map-functions
22219 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22220 functions from the parent backends.
22223 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22224 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22225 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22228 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22229 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22230 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22231 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22234 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22235 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22236 haven't already been defined.
22242 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22246 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22247 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22248 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22253 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22256 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22257 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22261 (require 'nnheader)
22265 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22267 (nnoo-declare nndir
22270 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22271 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22272 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22274 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22275 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22278 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
22280 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22281 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22282 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22284 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22285 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22287 ;;; Interface functions.
22289 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22291 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22292 (setq nndir-directory
22293 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22295 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22296 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22297 (push `(nndir-current-group
22298 ,(file-name-nondirectory
22299 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22301 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22302 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22304 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22306 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22307 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22308 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22309 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22310 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22314 nnmh-status-message
22316 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22322 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22323 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22325 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22326 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22327 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22328 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22330 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22331 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22336 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22339 The abilities can be:
22343 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22345 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22347 This backend supports both mail and news.
22349 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22352 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22353 articles and groups.
22355 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22356 true for almost all backends.
22357 @item prompt-address
22358 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22359 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22360 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22364 @node Mail-like Backends
22365 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22367 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22368 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22369 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22370 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22373 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22374 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22375 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22378 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22379 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22382 This function takes four parameters.
22386 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22389 @item exit-function
22390 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22392 @item temp-directory
22393 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22396 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22397 performed for one group only.
22400 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22401 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22402 find the article number assigned to this article.
22404 The function also uses the following variables:
22405 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22406 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22407 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22408 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22412 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22413 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22417 @node Score File Syntax
22418 @subsection Score File Syntax
22420 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22421 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22422 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22424 Here's a typical score file:
22428 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22435 BNF definition of a score file:
22438 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22439 element = rule / atom
22440 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22441 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22442 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22443 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22445 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22446 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22447 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22448 date-header = "date"
22449 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22450 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22451 score = "nil" / <integer>
22452 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22453 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22454 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22455 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22456 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22457 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22458 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22459 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22460 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22461 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22462 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22463 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22464 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22465 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22466 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22467 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22468 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22469 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22470 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22471 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22472 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22473 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22474 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22475 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22476 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22477 eval = "eval" space <form>
22478 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22481 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22484 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22485 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22486 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22487 one looong line, then that's ok.
22489 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22490 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22494 @subsection Headers
22496 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22497 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22498 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22499 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22501 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22502 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22503 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22504 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22505 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22506 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22507 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22509 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22510 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22511 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22512 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22513 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22515 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22516 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22522 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22523 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22525 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22526 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22527 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22528 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22530 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22534 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22537 is transformed into
22540 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22543 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22544 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22547 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22550 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22551 is slightly tricky:
22554 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22560 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22563 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22569 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22576 and is equal to the previous range.
22578 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22579 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22580 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22584 range = simple-range / normal-range
22585 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22586 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22587 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22588 number *[ " " contents ]
22591 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22592 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22593 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22594 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22595 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22600 @subsection Group Info
22602 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22603 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22604 describes the group.
22606 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22607 second is a more complex one:
22610 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22612 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22613 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22615 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22618 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22619 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22620 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22621 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22622 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22623 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22624 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22625 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22626 this section is about.
22628 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22629 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22630 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22632 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22635 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22636 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22637 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22638 group = quote <string> quote
22639 ralevel = rank / level
22640 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22641 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22642 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22644 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22645 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22646 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22647 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22650 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22651 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22654 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22655 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22658 @item gnus-info-group
22659 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22660 @findex gnus-info-group
22661 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22662 Get/set the group name.
22664 @item gnus-info-rank
22665 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22666 @findex gnus-info-rank
22667 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22668 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22670 @item gnus-info-level
22671 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22672 @findex gnus-info-level
22673 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22674 Get/set the group level.
22676 @item gnus-info-score
22677 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22678 @findex gnus-info-score
22679 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22680 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22682 @item gnus-info-read
22683 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22684 @findex gnus-info-read
22685 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22686 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22688 @item gnus-info-marks
22689 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22690 @findex gnus-info-marks
22691 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22692 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22694 @item gnus-info-method
22695 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22696 @findex gnus-info-method
22697 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22698 Get/set the group select method.
22700 @item gnus-info-params
22701 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22702 @findex gnus-info-params
22703 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22704 Get/set the group parameters.
22707 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22708 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22710 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22711 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22712 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22713 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22716 @node Extended Interactive
22717 @subsection Extended Interactive
22718 @cindex interactive
22719 @findex gnus-interactive
22721 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22722 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22723 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22726 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22727 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22732 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22733 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22734 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22735 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22736 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22737 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22738 @code{interactive}.
22740 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22745 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22746 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22750 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22751 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22752 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22755 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22759 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22763 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22769 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22770 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22774 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22775 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22776 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22778 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22779 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22780 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22781 Gnus, that's very useful.
22783 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22784 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22785 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22786 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22787 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22788 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22789 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22790 following function:
22793 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22797 (,function ,@@args))
22801 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22802 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22803 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22806 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22807 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22808 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22810 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22811 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22812 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22815 @node Various File Formats
22816 @subsection Various File Formats
22819 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22820 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22824 @node Active File Format
22825 @subsubsection Active File Format
22827 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22828 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22831 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22834 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22835 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22836 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22837 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22838 no.general 1000 900 y
22841 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22844 active = *group-line
22845 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
22846 group = <non-white-space string>
22848 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22849 low-number = <positive integer>
22850 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22853 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22854 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22857 @node Newsgroups File Format
22858 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22860 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22861 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22862 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22865 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22866 Here's the definition:
22870 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22871 group = <non-white-space string>
22873 description = <string>
22878 @node Emacs for Heathens
22879 @section Emacs for Heathens
22881 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22882 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22883 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22884 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22885 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22886 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22887 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22891 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22892 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22897 @subsection Keystrokes
22901 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22904 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22907 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22908 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22909 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22910 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22911 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22912 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22914 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22915 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22916 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22917 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22918 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22919 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22920 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22922 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22923 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22924 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22925 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22926 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22927 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22928 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22930 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22931 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22932 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22933 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22934 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22940 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22942 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22943 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22944 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22945 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22947 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22948 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22949 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22950 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22951 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22952 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22953 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22956 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22957 write the following:
22960 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22963 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22964 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22965 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22968 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22969 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22970 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22971 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22972 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22974 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22975 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22976 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22980 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22984 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22987 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22988 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22991 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22994 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22995 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22998 @include gnus-faq.texi
23019 % LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23020 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23021 % LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23022 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23023 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref