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4 @settitle Quassia Gnus 0.23 Manual
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259 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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268 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
270 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
271 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
272 are preserved on all copies.
274 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
275 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
276 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
277 permission notice identical to this one.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
280 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
289 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
291 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
294 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
295 are preserved on all copies.
298 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
299 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
300 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
301 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
304 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
305 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
306 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
307 permission notice identical to this one.
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
310 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
316 @title Quassia Gnus 0.23 Manual
318 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
321 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
322 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
324 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
325 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
326 are preserved on all copies.
328 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
329 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
330 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
331 permission notice identical to this one.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
334 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
343 @top The Gnus Newsreader
347 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
348 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
349 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
352 This manual corresponds to Quassia Gnus 0.23.
363 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
364 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
366 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
367 being accused of plagiarism:
369 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
370 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
371 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
372 even read news with it!
374 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
375 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
376 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
377 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
378 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
385 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
386 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
387 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
388 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
389 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
390 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
391 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
392 * Various:: General purpose settings.
393 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
394 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
395 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
396 * Key Index:: Key Index.
400 @chapter Starting Gnus
405 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
406 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
409 @findex gnus-other-frame
410 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
411 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
412 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
414 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
415 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
416 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
418 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
419 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
422 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
423 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
424 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
425 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
426 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
427 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
428 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
429 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
430 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
431 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
432 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
436 @node Finding the News
437 @section Finding the News
440 @vindex gnus-select-method
442 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
443 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
444 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
445 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
448 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
449 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
452 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
455 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
458 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
461 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
462 certainly be much faster.
464 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
466 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
467 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
468 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
469 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
470 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
471 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
473 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
474 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
475 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
476 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
478 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
479 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
480 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
481 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
482 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
483 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
485 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
487 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
488 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
489 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
490 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
491 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
492 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
494 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
496 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
497 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
498 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
499 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
500 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
501 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
504 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
505 would typically set this variable to
508 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
513 @section The First Time
514 @cindex first time usage
516 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
517 be subscribed by default.
519 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
520 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
521 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
522 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
525 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
526 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
527 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
529 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
530 help you with most common problems.
532 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
533 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
537 @node The Server is Down
538 @section The Server is Down
539 @cindex server errors
541 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
542 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
543 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
545 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
546 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
547 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
548 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
549 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
550 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
551 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
553 @findex gnus-no-server
554 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
556 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
557 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
558 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
559 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
560 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
561 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
566 @section Slave Gnusae
569 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
570 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
571 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
572 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
574 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
577 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
578 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
579 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
580 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
581 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
582 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
583 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
585 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
586 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
587 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
588 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
589 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
590 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
591 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
592 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
594 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
595 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
598 @node Fetching a Group
599 @section Fetching a Group
600 @cindex fetching a group
602 @findex gnus-fetch-group
603 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
604 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
605 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
606 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
607 It takes the group name as a parameter.
615 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
616 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
617 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
618 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
619 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
620 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
621 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
622 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
623 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
626 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
627 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
628 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
632 @node Checking New Groups
633 @subsection Checking New Groups
635 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
636 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
637 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
638 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
639 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
640 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
641 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
642 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
643 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
644 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
646 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
647 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
648 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
649 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
650 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
651 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
652 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
653 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
654 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
655 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
656 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
658 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
659 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
660 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
661 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
662 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
663 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
666 @node Subscription Methods
667 @subsection Subscription Methods
669 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
670 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
671 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
673 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
674 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
676 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
680 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
681 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
682 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
683 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
684 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
686 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
687 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
688 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
689 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the grop buffer.
691 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
693 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
695 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
696 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
697 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
698 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
699 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
700 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
701 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
702 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
703 up. Or something like that.
705 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
706 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
707 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
708 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
709 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
711 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
712 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
718 A closely related variable is
719 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
720 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
721 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
722 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
725 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
726 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
727 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
728 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
731 @node Filtering New Groups
732 @subsection Filtering New Groups
734 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
735 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
736 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
739 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
742 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
743 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
744 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
745 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
746 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
747 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
748 subscribing these groups.
749 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
750 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
752 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
753 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
754 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
755 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
756 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
757 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
758 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
759 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
761 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
762 Yet another variable that meddles here is
763 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
764 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
765 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
766 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
767 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
768 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
769 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
770 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
772 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
773 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
776 @node Changing Servers
777 @section Changing Servers
778 @cindex changing servers
780 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
781 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
782 very flaky and you want to use another.
784 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
785 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
789 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
790 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
791 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
792 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
795 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
796 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
797 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
798 functions more than absolutely necessary.
800 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
801 @findex gnus-change-server
802 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
803 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
804 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
805 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
806 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
808 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
809 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
810 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
811 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
812 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
814 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
815 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
816 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
817 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
818 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
819 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
823 @section Startup Files
824 @cindex startup files
829 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
830 information is traditionally stored in this file.
832 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
833 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
834 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
835 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
836 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
837 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
838 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
840 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
841 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
842 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
843 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
844 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
845 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
847 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
848 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
849 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
850 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
851 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
852 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
854 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
855 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
856 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
857 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
858 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
859 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
860 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
861 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
862 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
863 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
864 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
865 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
867 @vindex gnus-startup-file
868 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
869 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
870 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
872 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
873 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
874 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
875 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
876 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
877 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
878 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
879 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
880 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
881 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
884 (defun turn-off-backup ()
885 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
887 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
888 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
891 @vindex gnus-init-file
892 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
893 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
894 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
895 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
896 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
897 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
898 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
899 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
900 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
909 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
910 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
911 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
912 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
913 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
916 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
917 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
920 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
921 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
922 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
924 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
925 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
926 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
927 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
928 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
929 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
932 @node The Active File
933 @section The Active File
935 @cindex ignored groups
937 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
938 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
939 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
941 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
942 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
943 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
944 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
945 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
946 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
947 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
950 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
951 @c if you set it to anything else.
953 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
955 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
956 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
957 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
959 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
960 you actually subscribe to.
962 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
963 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
964 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
965 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
967 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
968 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
969 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
970 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
971 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
972 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
974 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
975 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
976 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
977 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
978 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
979 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
981 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
982 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
984 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
985 secondary select methods.
988 @node Startup Variables
989 @section Startup Variables
994 @vindex gnus-load-hook
995 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
996 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
997 times you start Gnus.
999 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1000 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1001 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1003 @item gnus-startup-hook
1004 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1005 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1007 @item gnus-started-hook
1008 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1009 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1012 @item gnus-started-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1014 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1015 generating the group buffer.
1017 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1018 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1019 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1020 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1021 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1022 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1023 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1024 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1026 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1027 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1028 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1029 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1030 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1031 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1033 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1034 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1035 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1037 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1038 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1039 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1041 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1042 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1043 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1044 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1049 @node The Group Buffer
1050 @chapter The Group Buffer
1051 @cindex group buffer
1053 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1054 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1055 long as Gnus is active.
1059 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1060 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1061 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1062 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1063 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1064 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1065 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1066 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1072 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1073 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1074 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1075 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1076 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1077 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1078 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1079 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1080 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1081 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1082 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1083 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1084 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1085 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1086 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1087 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1088 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1092 @node Group Buffer Format
1093 @section Group Buffer Format
1096 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1097 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1098 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1102 @node Group Line Specification
1103 @subsection Group Line Specification
1104 @cindex group buffer format
1106 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1107 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1109 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1112 25: news.announce.newusers
1113 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1118 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1119 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1120 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1121 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1123 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1124 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1125 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1126 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1127 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1128 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1130 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1132 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1133 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1134 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1135 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1138 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1139 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1140 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1142 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1147 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1150 Whether the group is subscribed.
1153 Level of subscribedness.
1156 Number of unread articles.
1159 Number of dormant articles.
1162 Number of ticked articles.
1165 Number of read articles.
1168 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1169 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1172 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1175 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1184 Newsgroup description.
1187 @samp{m} if moderated.
1190 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1199 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1203 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1206 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1207 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1208 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1209 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1210 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1213 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1215 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1219 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1223 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1224 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1225 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1226 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1227 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1228 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1233 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1234 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1235 group, or a bogus native group.
1238 @node Group Modeline Specification
1239 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1240 @cindex group modeline
1242 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1243 The mode line can be changed by setting
1244 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1245 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1249 The native news server.
1251 The native select method.
1255 @node Group Highlighting
1256 @subsection Group Highlighting
1257 @cindex highlighting
1258 @cindex group highlighting
1260 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1261 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1262 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1263 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1264 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1266 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1270 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1271 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1272 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1273 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1274 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1276 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1277 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1278 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1279 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1280 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1281 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1283 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1284 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1285 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1287 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1289 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1291 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1292 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1295 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1297 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1304 The number of unread articles in the group.
1308 Whether the group is a mail group.
1310 The level of the group.
1312 The score of the group.
1314 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1316 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1317 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1319 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1320 topic being inserted.
1323 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1324 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1325 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1327 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1328 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1329 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1330 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1331 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1334 @node Group Maneuvering
1335 @section Group Maneuvering
1336 @cindex group movement
1338 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1339 expected, hopefully.
1345 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1346 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1347 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1353 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1354 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1355 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1359 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1360 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1364 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1365 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1369 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1370 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1371 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1375 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1376 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1377 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1380 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1386 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1387 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1388 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1393 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1394 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1395 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1399 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1400 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1401 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1404 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1405 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1406 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1407 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1411 @node Selecting a Group
1412 @section Selecting a Group
1413 @cindex group selection
1418 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1419 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1420 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1421 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1422 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1423 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1424 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1425 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1426 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1427 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1431 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1432 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1433 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1434 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1435 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1439 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1441 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1442 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1443 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1444 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1445 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1446 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1447 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1448 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1451 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1452 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1453 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1454 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1455 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1458 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1460 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1461 doing any processing of its contents
1462 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1463 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1464 manner will have no permanent effects.
1468 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1469 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1470 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1471 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1472 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1473 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1474 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1475 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1478 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1479 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1480 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1481 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1486 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1487 full summary buffer.
1490 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1493 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1497 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1498 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1499 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1503 @node Subscription Commands
1504 @section Subscription Commands
1505 @cindex subscription
1513 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1514 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1515 Toggle subscription to the current group
1516 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1522 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1523 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1524 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1525 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1531 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1532 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1533 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1539 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1540 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1543 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1544 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1545 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1546 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1547 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1553 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1554 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1558 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1559 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1562 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1563 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1564 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1565 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1566 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1567 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1568 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1569 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1570 @file{.newsrc} file.
1574 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1584 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1585 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1586 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1587 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1588 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1589 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1594 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1595 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1596 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1600 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1601 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1602 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1604 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1605 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1606 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1607 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1608 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1609 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1616 @section Group Levels
1620 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1621 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1622 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1623 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1624 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1626 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1632 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1633 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1634 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1635 prompted for a level.
1638 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1639 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1640 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1641 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1642 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1643 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1644 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1645 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1646 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1647 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1648 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1649 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1650 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1651 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1652 reasons of efficiency.
1654 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1655 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1657 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1658 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1659 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1661 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1662 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1663 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1664 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1665 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1666 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1667 relevant valid ranges.
1669 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1670 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1671 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1672 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1673 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1674 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1677 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1678 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1679 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1682 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1683 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1684 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1685 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1688 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1689 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1690 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1691 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1693 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1694 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1695 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1696 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1697 to 5. The default is 6.
1701 @section Group Score
1706 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1707 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1708 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1711 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1712 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1713 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1714 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1715 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1716 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1717 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1719 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1720 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1721 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1722 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1723 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1724 action after each summary exit, you can add
1725 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1726 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1727 slow things down somewhat.
1730 @node Marking Groups
1731 @section Marking Groups
1732 @cindex marking groups
1734 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1735 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1736 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1737 bidding on those groups.
1739 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1740 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1741 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1749 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1750 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1756 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1757 Remove the mark from the current group
1758 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1762 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1763 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1767 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1768 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1772 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1773 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1777 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1778 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1779 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1782 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1784 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1785 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1786 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1787 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1788 the command to be executed.
1791 @node Foreign Groups
1792 @section Foreign Groups
1793 @cindex foreign groups
1795 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1796 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1797 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1798 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1805 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1806 @cindex making groups
1807 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1808 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1809 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1813 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1814 @cindex renaming groups
1815 Rename the current group to something else
1816 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1817 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1823 @findex gnus-group-customize
1824 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1828 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1829 @cindex renaming groups
1830 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1831 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1835 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1836 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1837 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1842 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1843 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1849 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1850 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1855 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1856 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1860 @cindex (ding) archive
1861 @cindex archive group
1862 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1863 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1864 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1865 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1866 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1867 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1868 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1874 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1875 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1876 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1877 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1881 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1883 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1884 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1885 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1889 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1890 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1892 Make a group based on some file or other
1893 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1894 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1895 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1896 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1897 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1898 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1899 @xref{Document Groups}.
1903 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1908 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1909 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1910 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1911 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1912 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1913 @xref{Web Searches}.
1916 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1917 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1918 This function will delete the current group
1919 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1920 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1921 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1922 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1923 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1927 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1928 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1929 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1933 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1934 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1935 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1938 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1941 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1942 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1943 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1944 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1945 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1948 @node Group Parameters
1949 @section Group Parameters
1950 @cindex group parameters
1952 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1957 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1958 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1959 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1960 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1961 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1962 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1963 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1964 copies of your followups.
1966 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1967 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1968 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1969 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1970 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1971 list address instead.
1975 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1976 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1977 doing a @kbd{a} in that group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1978 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1979 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1981 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
1982 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
1983 sending the message.
1987 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
1988 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
1989 of whether it has any unread articles.
1991 @item broken-reply-to
1992 @cindex broken-reply-to
1993 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1994 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1995 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1996 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1997 broken behavior. So there!
2001 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2002 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2006 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
2007 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
2008 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
2012 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
2013 @code{t}, newly composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
2014 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
2015 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
2016 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence
2017 over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later). @xref{Archived
2022 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2023 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2024 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2027 @cindex total-expire
2028 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2029 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2030 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2031 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2036 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2037 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2038 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2039 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2040 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2041 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2044 @cindex score file group parameter
2045 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2046 @file{file} into the current adaptive score file for the group in
2047 question. All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2050 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2051 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2052 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2053 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2056 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2057 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2058 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2059 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2062 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2063 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2067 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2070 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2075 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2076 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2077 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2080 @item @var{(variable form)}
2081 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2082 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2083 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2084 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2085 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2086 @code{eval}ed there.
2088 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2089 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2090 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2091 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2092 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2096 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2098 @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2100 Here's an example group parameter list:
2103 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2108 @node Listing Groups
2109 @section Listing Groups
2110 @cindex group listing
2112 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2120 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2121 List all groups that have unread articles
2122 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2123 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2124 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2125 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2132 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2133 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2134 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2135 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2136 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2137 unsubscribed groups).
2141 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2142 List all unread groups on a specific level
2143 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2144 with no unread articles.
2148 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2149 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2150 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2151 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2156 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2157 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2161 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2162 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2163 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2167 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2168 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2172 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2173 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2174 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2175 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2176 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2177 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2178 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2179 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2183 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2184 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2185 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2189 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2190 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2191 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2195 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2196 @cindex visible group parameter
2197 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2198 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2199 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2200 get the same effect.
2202 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2203 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2204 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2205 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2206 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2209 @node Sorting Groups
2210 @section Sorting Groups
2211 @cindex sorting groups
2213 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2214 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2215 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2216 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2217 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2218 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2223 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2224 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2225 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2227 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2228 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2229 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2231 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2232 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2233 Sort by group level.
2235 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2236 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2237 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2239 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2240 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2241 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2242 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2244 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2245 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2246 Sort by number of unread articles.
2248 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2249 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2250 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2255 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2256 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2260 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2261 some sorting criteria:
2265 @kindex G S a (Group)
2266 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2267 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2268 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2271 @kindex G S u (Group)
2272 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2273 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2274 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2277 @kindex G S l (Group)
2278 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2279 Sort the group buffer by group level
2280 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2283 @kindex G S v (Group)
2284 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2285 Sort the group buffer by group score
2286 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2289 @kindex G S r (Group)
2290 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2291 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2292 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2295 @kindex G S m (Group)
2296 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2297 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2298 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2302 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2304 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2308 @kindex G P a (Group)
2309 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2310 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2311 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2314 @kindex G P u (Group)
2315 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2316 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2317 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2320 @kindex G P l (Group)
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2322 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2323 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2326 @kindex G P v (Group)
2327 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2328 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2329 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2332 @kindex G P r (Group)
2333 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2334 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2335 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2338 @kindex G P m (Group)
2339 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2340 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2341 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2347 @node Group Maintenance
2348 @section Group Maintenance
2349 @cindex bogus groups
2354 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2355 Find bogus groups and delete them
2356 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2360 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2361 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2362 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2366 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2367 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2368 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2369 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2372 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2373 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2374 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2375 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2380 @node Browse Foreign Server
2381 @section Browse Foreign Server
2382 @cindex foreign servers
2383 @cindex browsing servers
2388 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2389 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2390 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2391 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2394 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2395 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2396 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2397 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2399 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2404 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2405 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2409 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2410 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2413 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2414 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2415 Enter the current group and display the first article
2416 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2419 @kindex RET (Browse)
2420 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2421 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2425 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2426 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2427 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2433 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2434 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2438 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2439 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2440 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2445 @section Exiting Gnus
2446 @cindex exiting Gnus
2448 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2453 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2454 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2455 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2456 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2460 @findex gnus-group-exit
2461 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2462 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2466 @findex gnus-group-quit
2467 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2468 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2471 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2472 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2473 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2474 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2475 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2480 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2481 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2482 trying to customize meta-variables.
2487 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2488 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2489 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2495 @section Group Topics
2498 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2499 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2500 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2501 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2502 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2503 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2507 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2508 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2519 2: alt.religion.emacs
2522 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2524 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2525 13: comp.sources.unix
2528 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2530 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2531 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2532 is a toggling command.)
2534 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2535 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2536 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2537 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2540 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2541 the hook for the group mode:
2544 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2548 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2549 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2550 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2551 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2552 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2556 @node Topic Variables
2557 @subsection Topic Variables
2558 @cindex topic variables
2560 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2561 really neat, I think.
2563 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2564 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2565 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2578 Number of groups in the topic.
2580 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2582 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2585 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2586 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2587 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2590 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2591 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2593 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2594 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2595 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2598 @node Topic Commands
2599 @subsection Topic Commands
2600 @cindex topic commands
2602 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2603 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2604 definitions slightly.
2610 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2611 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2612 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2616 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2617 Move the current group to some other topic
2618 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2619 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2623 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2624 Copy the current group to some other topic
2625 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2626 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2630 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2631 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2632 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2633 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2637 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2638 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2639 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2643 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2644 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2645 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2649 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2650 Toggle hiding empty topics
2651 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2655 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2656 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2657 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2660 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2661 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2662 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2663 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2667 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2669 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2670 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2671 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2672 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2673 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2674 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2677 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2678 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2679 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2680 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2681 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2685 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2686 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2687 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2691 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2692 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2693 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2698 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2699 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2702 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2703 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2704 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2708 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2709 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2710 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2714 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2715 @cindex group parameters
2716 @cindex topic parameters
2718 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2719 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2725 @subsection Topic Sorting
2726 @cindex topic sorting
2728 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2734 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2735 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2736 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2737 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2740 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2741 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2742 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2743 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2746 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2747 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2748 Sort the current topic by group level
2749 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2752 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2753 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2754 Sort the current topic by group score
2755 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2758 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2759 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2760 Sort the current topic by group rank
2761 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2764 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2765 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2766 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2767 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2771 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2774 @node Topic Topology
2775 @subsection Topic Topology
2776 @cindex topic topology
2779 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2785 2: alt.religion.emacs
2788 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2790 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2791 13: comp.sources.unix
2794 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2795 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2796 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2801 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2802 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2806 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2807 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2808 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2809 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2810 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2811 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2813 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2814 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2815 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2818 @node Topic Parameters
2819 @subsection Topic Parameters
2820 @cindex topic parameters
2822 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2823 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2824 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2826 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2827 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2828 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2829 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2835 2: alt.religion.emacs
2839 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2841 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2842 13: comp.sources.unix
2846 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2847 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2848 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2849 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2850 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2851 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2853 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2854 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2855 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2856 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2857 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2859 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2860 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2861 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2862 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2863 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2864 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2865 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2866 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2869 @node Misc Group Stuff
2870 @section Misc Group Stuff
2873 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2874 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2875 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2876 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2883 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2884 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2885 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2889 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2890 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2891 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2895 @findex gnus-group-mail
2896 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2900 Variables for the group buffer:
2904 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2905 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2906 is called after the group buffer has been
2909 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2910 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2911 is called after the group buffer is
2912 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2915 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2916 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2917 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2918 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2920 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2921 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2922 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2923 whether they are empty or not.
2928 @node Scanning New Messages
2929 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2930 @cindex new messages
2931 @cindex scanning new news
2937 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2938 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2939 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2940 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2941 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2942 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2947 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2948 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2949 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2950 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2951 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2952 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2953 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2955 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2956 @cindex activating groups
2958 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2959 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2964 @findex gnus-group-restart
2965 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2966 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2967 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2971 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2972 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2974 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2975 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2979 @node Group Information
2980 @subsection Group Information
2981 @cindex group information
2982 @cindex information on groups
2989 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2990 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2993 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2994 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2995 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2996 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2997 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2998 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2999 for fetching the file.
3001 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3002 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3006 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3008 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3009 @cindex describing groups
3010 @cindex group description
3011 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3012 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3013 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3017 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3018 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3019 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3026 @findex gnus-version
3027 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3031 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3032 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3035 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3038 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3039 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3043 @node Group Timestamp
3044 @subsection Group Timestamp
3046 @cindex group timestamps
3048 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3049 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3050 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3053 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3056 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3058 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3059 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3062 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3063 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3066 This will result in lines looking like:
3069 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3070 0: custom 19961002T012713
3073 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3074 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3078 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3079 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3084 @subsection File Commands
3085 @cindex file commands
3091 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3092 @vindex gnus-init-file
3093 @cindex reading init file
3094 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3095 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3099 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3100 @cindex saving .newsrc
3101 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3102 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3103 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3106 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3107 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3108 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3113 @node The Summary Buffer
3114 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3115 @cindex summary buffer
3117 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3118 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3120 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3121 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3123 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3126 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3127 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3128 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3129 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3130 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3131 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3132 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3133 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3134 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3135 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3136 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3137 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3138 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3139 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3140 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3141 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3142 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3143 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3144 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3145 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3146 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3147 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3148 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3149 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3150 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3151 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3152 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3156 @node Summary Buffer Format
3157 @section Summary Buffer Format
3158 @cindex summary buffer format
3162 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3163 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3164 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3170 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3171 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3172 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3175 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3176 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3177 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3178 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3179 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3180 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3181 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3182 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3183 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3184 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3185 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3187 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3188 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3189 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3190 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3193 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3194 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3196 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3197 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3198 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3199 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3200 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3202 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3204 The following format specification characters are understood:
3212 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3213 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3214 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3216 Full @code{From} header.
3218 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3220 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3221 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3222 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3223 may be more thorough.
3225 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3228 Number of lines in the article.
3230 Number of characters in the article.
3232 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3234 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3235 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3237 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3238 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3240 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3241 for adopted articles.
3243 One space for each thread level.
3245 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3251 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3253 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3254 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3255 default level. If the difference between
3256 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3257 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3265 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3267 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3273 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3274 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3276 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3277 article has any children.
3283 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3284 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3285 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3286 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3287 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3288 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3291 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3292 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3293 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3294 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3295 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3296 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3298 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3299 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3301 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3304 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3305 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3307 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3308 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3309 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3310 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3312 Here are the elements you can play with:
3318 Unprefixed group name.
3320 Current article number.
3324 Number of unread articles in this group.
3326 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3329 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3330 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3331 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3332 and no unselected ones.
3334 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3335 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3337 Subject of the current article.
3339 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3341 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3343 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3345 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3347 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3349 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3353 @node Summary Highlighting
3354 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3358 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3359 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3360 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3361 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3362 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3364 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3365 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3366 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3367 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3369 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3370 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3371 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3372 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3374 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3375 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3376 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3377 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3378 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3379 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3381 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3382 ((> score default) . bold))
3384 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3385 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3389 @node Summary Maneuvering
3390 @section Summary Maneuvering
3391 @cindex summary movement
3393 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3394 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3396 None of these commands select articles.
3401 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3402 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3403 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3404 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3405 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3409 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3410 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3411 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3412 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3413 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3418 @kindex G j (Summary)
3419 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3420 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3421 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3424 @kindex G g (Summary)
3425 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3426 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3427 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3430 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3431 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3432 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3433 to the group buffer.
3435 Variables related to summary movement:
3439 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3440 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3441 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3442 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3443 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3444 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3445 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3446 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3447 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3448 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3449 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3450 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3451 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3452 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3454 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3455 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3456 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3457 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3458 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3459 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3460 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3462 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3463 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3464 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3465 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3466 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3468 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3469 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3470 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3471 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3472 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3473 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3474 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3475 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3481 @node Choosing Articles
3482 @section Choosing Articles
3483 @cindex selecting articles
3486 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3487 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3491 @node Choosing Commands
3492 @subsection Choosing Commands
3494 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3495 and they all select and display an article.
3499 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3500 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3501 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3502 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3507 @kindex G n (Summary)
3508 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3509 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3510 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3515 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3516 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3517 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3522 @kindex G N (Summary)
3523 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3524 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3529 @kindex G P (Summary)
3530 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3531 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3534 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3535 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3536 Go to the next article with the same subject
3537 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3540 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3541 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3542 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3543 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3547 @kindex G f (Summary)
3549 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3550 Go to the first unread article
3551 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3555 @kindex G b (Summary)
3557 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3558 Go to the article with the highest score
3559 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3564 @kindex G l (Summary)
3565 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3566 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3569 @kindex G o (Summary)
3570 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3572 @cindex article history
3573 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3574 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3575 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3576 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3577 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3578 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3582 @node Choosing Variables
3583 @subsection Choosing Variables
3585 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3588 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3589 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3590 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3591 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3592 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3593 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3595 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3596 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3597 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3598 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3600 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3601 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3602 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3603 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3604 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3605 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3606 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3607 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3608 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3609 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3610 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3611 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3612 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3613 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3618 @node Paging the Article
3619 @section Scrolling the Article
3620 @cindex article scrolling
3625 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3626 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3627 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3628 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3629 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3632 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3633 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3634 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3637 @kindex RET (Summary)
3638 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3639 Scroll the current article one line forward
3640 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3644 @kindex A g (Summary)
3646 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3647 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3648 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3649 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3650 the way it came from the server.
3655 @kindex A < (Summary)
3656 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3657 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3658 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3663 @kindex A > (Summary)
3664 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3665 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3669 @kindex A s (Summary)
3671 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3672 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3673 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3677 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3678 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3683 @node Reply Followup and Post
3684 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3687 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3688 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3692 @node Summary Mail Commands
3693 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3695 @cindex composing mail
3697 Commands for composing a mail message:
3703 @kindex S r (Summary)
3705 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3707 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3708 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3709 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3714 @kindex S R (Summary)
3715 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3716 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3717 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3718 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3719 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3722 @kindex S w (Summary)
3723 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3724 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3725 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3726 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3727 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3730 @kindex S W (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3732 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3733 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3734 the process/prefix convention.
3737 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3738 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3739 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3740 Forward the current article to some other person
3741 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3742 headers of the forwarded article.
3747 @kindex S m (Summary)
3748 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3749 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3750 Send a mail to some other person
3751 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3754 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3755 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3756 @cindex bouncing mail
3757 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3758 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3759 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3760 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3761 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3762 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3763 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3764 very well fail, though.
3767 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3768 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3769 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3770 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3771 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3772 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3773 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3774 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3775 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3776 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3778 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3779 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3780 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3781 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3782 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3784 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3785 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3788 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3789 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3790 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3791 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3792 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3795 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3796 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3797 @cindex crossposting
3798 @cindex excessive crossposting
3799 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3800 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3802 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3803 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3804 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3805 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3806 command understands the process/prefix convention
3807 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3812 @node Summary Post Commands
3813 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3815 @cindex composing news
3817 Commands for posting a news article:
3823 @kindex S p (Summary)
3824 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3825 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3826 Post an article to the current group
3827 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3832 @kindex S f (Summary)
3833 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3834 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3835 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3839 @kindex S F (Summary)
3841 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3842 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3843 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3844 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3845 process/prefix convention.
3848 @kindex S n (Summary)
3849 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3850 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3851 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3854 @kindex S n (Summary)
3855 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3856 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3857 message through mail and include the original message
3858 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3859 the process/prefix convention.
3862 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3863 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3864 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3865 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3866 headers of the forwarded article.
3869 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3870 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3872 @cindex making digests
3873 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3874 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3875 process/prefix convention.
3878 @kindex S u (Summary)
3879 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3880 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3881 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3882 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3886 @node Canceling and Superseding
3887 @section Canceling Articles
3888 @cindex canceling articles
3889 @cindex superseding articles
3891 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3892 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3894 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3896 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3898 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3899 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3900 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3901 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3902 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3903 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3905 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3906 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3909 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when cancelling. If you
3910 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3911 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3913 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3914 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3915 your original article.
3917 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3919 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3920 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3921 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3924 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3925 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3926 have posted almost the same article twice.
3928 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3929 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3930 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3931 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3932 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3933 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3934 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3935 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3936 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3937 canceled/superseded.
3939 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3942 @node Marking Articles
3943 @section Marking Articles
3944 @cindex article marking
3945 @cindex article ticking
3948 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3950 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3951 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3952 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3954 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3957 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3958 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3959 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3963 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3967 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3968 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3972 @node Unread Articles
3973 @subsection Unread Articles
3975 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3980 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3981 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3983 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3984 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3985 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3986 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3987 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3991 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3992 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3994 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3995 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
3996 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
3999 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4000 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4002 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4007 @subsection Read Articles
4008 @cindex expirable mark
4010 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4015 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4016 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4017 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4020 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4021 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4024 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4025 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4026 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4029 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4030 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4033 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4034 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4037 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4038 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4041 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4042 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4045 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4046 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4049 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4050 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4053 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4054 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4058 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4059 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4060 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4064 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4065 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4067 One more special mark, though:
4071 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4072 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4074 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4075 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4076 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4077 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4083 @subsection Other Marks
4084 @cindex process mark
4087 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4093 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4094 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4095 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4096 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4097 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4100 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4101 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4102 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4103 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4106 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4107 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4108 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4111 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4112 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4113 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4114 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4117 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4118 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4119 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4120 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4121 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4124 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4125 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4126 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4127 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4128 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4129 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4133 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4134 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4135 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4137 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4138 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4139 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4143 @subsection Setting Marks
4144 @cindex setting marks
4146 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4151 @kindex M c (Summary)
4152 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4153 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4154 @cindex mark as unread
4155 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4156 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4162 @kindex M t (Summary)
4163 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4164 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4165 @xref{Article Caching}
4170 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4171 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4172 Mark the current article as dormant
4173 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4177 @kindex M d (Summary)
4179 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4180 Mark the current article as read
4181 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4185 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4186 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4187 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4192 @kindex M k (Summary)
4193 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4194 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4195 and then select the next unread article
4196 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4200 @kindex M K (Summary)
4201 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4202 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4203 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4204 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4207 @kindex M C (Summary)
4208 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4209 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4210 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4213 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4214 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4215 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4216 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4219 @kindex M H (Summary)
4220 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4221 Catchup the current group to point
4222 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4225 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4226 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4227 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4228 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4231 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4232 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4233 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4234 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4238 @kindex M e (Summary)
4240 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4241 Mark the current article as expirable
4242 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4245 @kindex M b (Summary)
4246 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4247 Set a bookmark in the current article
4248 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4251 @kindex M B (Summary)
4252 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4253 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4254 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4257 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4258 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4259 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4260 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4263 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4264 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4265 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4266 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4269 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4270 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4271 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4272 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4273 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4276 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4277 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4278 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4279 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4280 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4281 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4282 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4283 The default is @code{t}.
4286 @node Setting Process Marks
4287 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4288 @cindex setting process marks
4295 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4296 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4297 Mark the current article with the process mark
4298 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4299 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4303 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4304 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4305 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4306 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4309 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4310 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4311 Remove the process mark from all articles
4312 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4315 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4316 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4317 Invert the list of process marked articles
4318 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4321 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4322 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4323 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4326 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4327 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4328 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4331 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4332 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4333 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4334 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4337 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4338 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4339 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4340 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4343 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4344 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4345 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4346 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4349 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4350 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4351 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4354 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4355 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4356 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4357 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4360 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4361 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4362 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4365 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4366 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4367 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4368 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4371 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4372 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4373 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4374 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4377 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4379 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4380 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4383 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4385 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4386 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4395 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4396 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4397 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4400 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4401 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4402 additional articles.
4408 @kindex / / (Summary)
4409 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4410 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4411 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4414 @kindex / a (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4416 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4417 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4421 @kindex / u (Summary)
4423 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4424 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4425 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4426 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4427 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4430 @kindex / m (Summary)
4431 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4432 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4433 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4436 @kindex / t (Summary)
4437 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4438 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4439 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4440 articles younger than that number of days.
4443 @kindex / n (Summary)
4444 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4445 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4446 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4447 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4450 @kindex / w (Summary)
4451 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4452 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4453 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4457 @kindex / v (Summary)
4458 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4459 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4460 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4464 @kindex M S (Summary)
4465 @kindex / E (Summary)
4466 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4467 Display all expunged articles
4468 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4471 @kindex / D (Summary)
4472 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4473 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4476 @kindex / d (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4478 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4481 @kindex / T (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4483 Include all the articles in the current thread.
4486 @kindex / c (Summary)
4487 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4488 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4489 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4492 @kindex / C (Summary)
4493 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4494 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4495 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4496 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4504 @cindex article threading
4506 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4507 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4508 hierarchical fashion.
4510 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4511 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4512 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4513 or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
4514 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4515 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4516 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4518 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4522 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4525 A tree-like article structure.
4528 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4531 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4532 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4533 summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
4534 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4535 called loose threads.
4537 @item thread gathering
4538 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4540 @item sparse threads
4541 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4542 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4548 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4549 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4553 @node Customizing Threading
4554 @subsection Customizing Threading
4555 @cindex customizing threading
4558 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4559 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4560 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4561 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4566 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4569 @cindex loose threads
4572 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4573 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4574 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4575 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4576 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4577 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4579 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4580 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4581 There are four possible values:
4585 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4586 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4587 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4588 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4589 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4594 @cindex adopting articles
4599 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4600 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4601 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4602 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4605 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4606 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4607 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4608 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4609 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4610 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4611 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4614 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4615 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4616 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4620 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4621 display them after one another.
4624 Don't gather loose threads.
4627 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4628 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4629 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4630 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4631 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4632 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4633 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4634 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4635 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4636 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4637 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4639 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4640 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4641 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4644 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4645 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4646 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4647 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4648 simplification is used.
4650 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4651 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4652 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4653 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4655 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4657 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4663 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4664 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4665 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4666 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4671 (mapconcat 'identity
4672 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4674 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4677 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4680 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4681 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4682 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4683 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4684 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4685 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4687 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4690 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4691 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4692 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4694 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4695 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4698 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4699 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4700 Remove excessive whitespace.
4703 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4706 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4707 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4708 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4709 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4710 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4711 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4712 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4713 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4715 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4716 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4717 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4718 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4719 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4720 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4721 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4722 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4723 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4727 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4728 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4729 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4730 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4732 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4733 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4734 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4737 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4741 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4742 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4748 @node Filling In Threads
4749 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4752 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4753 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4754 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4755 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4756 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4757 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4758 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4759 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4760 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4761 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4762 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4763 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4765 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4766 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4767 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4769 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4770 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4771 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4772 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4773 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4774 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4775 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4776 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4777 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4778 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4779 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4780 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4781 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4782 @code{nil} by default.
4787 @node More Threading
4788 @subsubsection More Threading
4791 @item gnus-show-threads
4792 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4793 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4794 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4795 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4796 slower and more awkward.
4798 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4799 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4800 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4803 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4804 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4805 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4806 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4807 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4808 threads are expunged.
4810 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4811 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4812 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4815 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4816 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4817 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4818 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4819 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4822 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4823 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4824 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4830 @node Low-Level Threading
4831 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4835 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4836 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4837 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4838 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4839 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4840 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4842 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4843 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4844 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4845 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4846 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4847 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4848 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4849 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4850 meaningful. Here's one example:
4853 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4855 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4856 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4858 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4860 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4867 @node Thread Commands
4868 @subsection Thread Commands
4869 @cindex thread commands
4875 @kindex T k (Summary)
4876 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4878 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4879 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4880 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4885 @kindex T l (Summary)
4886 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4887 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4888 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4889 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4892 @kindex T i (Summary)
4893 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4894 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4895 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4898 @kindex T # (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4900 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4901 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4904 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4905 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4906 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4907 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4910 @kindex T T (Summary)
4911 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4912 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4915 @kindex T s (Summary)
4916 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4917 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4918 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4921 @kindex T h (Summary)
4922 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4923 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4926 @kindex T S (Summary)
4927 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4928 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4931 @kindex T H (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4933 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4936 @kindex T t (Summary)
4937 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4938 Re-thread the current article's thread
4939 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4940 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4943 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4944 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4945 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4946 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4950 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4951 understand the numeric prefix.
4956 @kindex T n (Summary)
4957 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4958 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4961 @kindex T p (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4963 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4966 @kindex T d (Summary)
4967 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4968 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4971 @kindex T u (Summary)
4972 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4973 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4976 @kindex T o (Summary)
4977 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4978 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4981 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4982 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4983 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4984 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4985 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4986 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4987 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
4988 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4989 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4990 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4991 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4992 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4999 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5000 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5001 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5002 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5003 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5004 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5005 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5006 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5007 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5008 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5009 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5010 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5011 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5012 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5014 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5015 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5016 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5017 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5018 in the list. You should probably always include
5019 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5020 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5021 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5022 ascending article order.
5024 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5025 number, you could do something like:
5028 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5029 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5030 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5031 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5034 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5035 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5036 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5037 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5038 which the articles arrived.
5040 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5044 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5046 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t2 t1)))
5047 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5050 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5051 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5052 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5053 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5056 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5057 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5058 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5059 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5060 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5061 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5062 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5063 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5064 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5065 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5066 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5067 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5068 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5070 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5074 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5075 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5076 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5081 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5082 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5083 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5084 @cindex article pre-fetch
5087 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5088 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5089 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5090 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5091 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5093 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5094 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5096 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5097 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5098 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5099 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5100 connection is blocked.
5102 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5103 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5104 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5105 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5107 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5108 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5109 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5110 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5113 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5116 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5117 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5118 happen automatically.
5120 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5121 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5122 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5123 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5124 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5125 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5126 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5128 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5129 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5130 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5131 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5132 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5133 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5134 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5135 data structure as the only parameter.
5137 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5140 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5141 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5142 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5143 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5146 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5149 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5150 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5151 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5153 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5154 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5155 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5156 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5160 Remove articles when they are read.
5163 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5166 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5168 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5169 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5170 from the next group.
5173 @node Article Caching
5174 @section Article Caching
5175 @cindex article caching
5178 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5179 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5180 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5181 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5182 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5184 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5186 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5187 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5188 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5189 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5190 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5191 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5192 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5193 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5195 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5196 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5197 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5198 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5199 as dormant, and don't worry.
5201 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5203 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5204 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5205 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5206 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5207 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5208 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5209 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5210 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5211 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5212 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5214 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5215 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5216 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5217 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5218 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5219 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5220 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5221 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5222 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5223 not then be downloaded by this command.
5225 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5226 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5227 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5228 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5229 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5230 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5231 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5234 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5235 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5236 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5237 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5238 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5239 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5240 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5241 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5242 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5246 @node Persistent Articles
5247 @section Persistent Articles
5248 @cindex persistent articles
5250 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5251 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5252 useful in my opinion.
5254 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5255 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5256 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5257 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5258 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5259 the expiry going on at the news server.
5261 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5262 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5263 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5269 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5270 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5273 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5274 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5275 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5276 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5280 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5282 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5283 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5284 interested in persistent articles:
5287 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5291 @node Article Backlog
5292 @section Article Backlog
5294 @cindex article backlog
5296 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5297 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5298 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5299 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5300 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5301 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5302 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5303 increase memory usage some.
5305 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5306 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5307 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5308 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5309 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5310 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5311 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5313 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5316 @node Saving Articles
5317 @section Saving Articles
5318 @cindex saving articles
5320 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5321 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5322 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5323 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5324 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5326 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5327 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5328 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5330 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5331 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5332 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5333 deleted before saving.
5339 @kindex O o (Summary)
5341 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5343 Save the current article using the default article saver
5344 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5347 @kindex O m (Summary)
5348 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5349 Save the current article in mail format
5350 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5353 @kindex O r (Summary)
5354 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5355 Save the current article in rmail format
5356 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5359 @kindex O f (Summary)
5360 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5361 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5362 Save the current article in plain file format
5363 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5366 @kindex O F (Summary)
5367 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5368 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5369 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5372 @kindex O b (Summary)
5373 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5374 Save the current article body in plain file format
5375 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5378 @kindex O h (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5380 Save the current article in mh folder format
5381 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5384 @kindex O v (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5386 Save the current article in a VM folder
5387 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5390 @kindex O p (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5392 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5393 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5396 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5397 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5398 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5399 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5400 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5401 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5402 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5403 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5404 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5405 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5406 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5407 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5411 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5412 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5413 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5414 functions below, or you can create your own.
5418 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5419 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5420 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5421 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5422 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5423 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5424 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5426 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5427 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5428 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5429 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5430 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5431 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5433 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5434 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5435 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5436 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5437 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5438 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5439 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5441 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5442 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5443 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5444 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5445 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5447 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5448 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5449 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5450 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5451 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5454 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5455 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5456 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5457 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5458 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5460 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5461 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5462 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5463 reader to use this setting.
5466 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5467 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5468 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5469 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5472 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5473 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5474 available functions that generate names:
5478 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5479 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5480 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5482 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5483 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5484 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5486 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5487 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5488 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5490 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5491 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5492 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5495 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5496 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5497 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5498 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5499 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5503 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5504 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5505 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5506 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5509 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5510 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5511 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5512 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5513 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5514 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5515 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5516 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5517 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5519 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5520 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5521 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5522 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5524 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5525 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5526 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5529 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5530 lots of mail groups called things like
5531 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5532 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5533 following will do just that:
5536 (defun my-save-name (group)
5537 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5538 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5540 (setq gnus-split-methods
5541 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5546 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5547 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5548 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5549 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5550 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5551 all the files in the toplevel directory
5552 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5553 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5554 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5555 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5557 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5558 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5559 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5560 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5561 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5564 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5568 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5569 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5572 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5573 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5574 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5575 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5578 @node Decoding Articles
5579 @section Decoding Articles
5580 @cindex decoding articles
5582 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5583 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5586 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5587 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5588 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5589 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5590 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5591 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5595 @cindex article series
5596 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5597 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5598 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5599 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5600 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5602 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5603 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5604 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5606 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5607 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5608 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5610 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5611 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5612 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5615 @node Uuencoded Articles
5616 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5618 @cindex uuencoded articles
5623 @kindex X u (Summary)
5624 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5625 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5626 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5629 @kindex X U (Summary)
5630 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5631 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5632 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5635 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5636 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5637 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5640 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5641 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5642 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5643 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5647 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5648 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5649 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5650 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5651 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5653 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5654 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5655 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5656 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5659 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5660 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5661 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5662 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5663 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5664 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5668 @node Shell Archives
5669 @subsection Shell Archives
5671 @cindex shell archives
5672 @cindex shared articles
5674 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5675 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5676 some commands to deal with these:
5681 @kindex X s (Summary)
5682 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5683 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5686 @kindex X S (Summary)
5687 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5688 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5691 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5692 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5693 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5696 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5697 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5698 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5699 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5703 @node PostScript Files
5704 @subsection PostScript Files
5710 @kindex X p (Summary)
5711 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5712 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5715 @kindex X P (Summary)
5716 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5717 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5718 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5721 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5722 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5723 View the current PostScript series
5724 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5727 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5728 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5729 View and save the current PostScript series
5730 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5735 @subsection Other Files
5739 @kindex X o (Summary)
5740 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5741 Save the current series
5742 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5745 @kindex X b (Summary)
5746 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5747 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5748 doesn't really work yet.
5752 @node Decoding Variables
5753 @subsection Decoding Variables
5755 Adjective, not verb.
5758 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5759 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5760 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5764 @node Rule Variables
5765 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5766 @cindex rule variables
5768 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5769 variables are of the form
5772 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5779 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5780 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5782 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5783 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5786 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5787 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5790 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5791 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5792 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5793 user and default view rules.
5795 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5796 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5797 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5802 @node Other Decode Variables
5803 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5806 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5808 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5809 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5810 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5811 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5812 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5816 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5817 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5820 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5821 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5822 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5825 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5826 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5827 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5828 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5829 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5832 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5833 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5834 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5836 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5837 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5838 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5839 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5840 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5843 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5844 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5845 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5847 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5848 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5849 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5850 looking for files to display.
5852 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5853 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5854 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5857 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5858 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5859 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5862 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5863 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5864 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5867 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5868 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5869 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5872 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5873 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5874 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5875 decoded articles as unread.
5877 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5878 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5879 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5880 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5882 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5883 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5884 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5886 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5887 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5889 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5890 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5891 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5892 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5894 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5895 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5896 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5897 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5898 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5899 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5900 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5901 simply dropped them.
5906 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5907 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5911 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5912 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5913 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5914 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5915 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5916 for you when you post the article.
5918 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5919 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5920 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5921 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5923 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5924 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5925 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5926 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5927 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5928 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5929 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5931 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5932 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5933 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5934 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5935 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5936 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5937 Default is @code{t}.
5943 @subsection Viewing Files
5944 @cindex viewing files
5945 @cindex pseudo-articles
5947 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5948 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5949 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5950 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5951 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5952 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5953 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5955 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5956 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5957 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5958 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5960 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5961 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5962 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5964 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5965 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5966 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5967 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5968 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5970 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5971 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5972 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5973 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5974 a list of parameters to that command.
5976 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5977 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5978 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5980 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5981 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5982 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5985 @node Article Treatment
5986 @section Article Treatment
5988 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5989 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
5990 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5991 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5992 these articles easier.
5995 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5996 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5997 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5998 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5999 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6000 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6001 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6005 @node Article Highlighting
6006 @subsection Article Highlighting
6009 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6010 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6015 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6016 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6017 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
6020 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6021 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6022 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6023 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6024 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6025 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6026 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6027 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6028 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6029 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6030 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6033 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6034 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6035 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6037 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6040 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6042 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6043 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6044 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6046 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6047 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6048 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6050 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6051 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6052 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6054 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6055 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6056 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6057 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6058 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6059 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6061 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6062 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6063 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6065 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6066 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6067 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6069 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6070 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6071 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6072 that it's a citation.
6074 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6075 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6076 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6078 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6079 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6080 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6082 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6083 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6084 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6085 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6091 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6092 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6093 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6094 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6095 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6096 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6097 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6098 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6104 @node Article Fontisizing
6105 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6107 @cindex article emphasis
6109 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6110 @kindex W e (Summary)
6111 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6112 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6113 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6114 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6116 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6117 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6118 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6119 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6120 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6121 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6122 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6123 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6127 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6128 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6129 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6132 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6133 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6134 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6135 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6136 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6137 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6138 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6139 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6140 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6141 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6142 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6143 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6144 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6146 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6147 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6148 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6152 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6156 @node Article Hiding
6157 @subsection Article Hiding
6158 @cindex article hiding
6160 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6161 too much cruft in most articles.
6166 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6167 @findex gnus-article-hide
6168 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6171 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6172 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6173 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6177 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6178 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6179 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6180 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6183 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6185 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6189 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6191 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6192 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6193 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6194 signature has been hidden.
6197 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6198 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6199 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6200 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6203 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6204 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6205 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6206 customizing the hiding:
6210 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6211 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6212 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6213 50), hide the cited text.
6215 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6216 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6217 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6220 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6221 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6222 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6223 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6224 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6229 Start point of the hidden text.
6231 End point of the hidden text.
6233 Length of the hidden text.
6236 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6237 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6238 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6243 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6245 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6246 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6247 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6248 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6252 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6253 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6254 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6256 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6257 citation customization.
6260 @node Article Washing
6261 @subsection Article Washing
6263 @cindex article washing
6265 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6266 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6268 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6269 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6275 @kindex W l (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6277 Remove page breaks from the current article
6278 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6281 @kindex W r (Summary)
6282 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6283 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6284 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6285 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6286 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6287 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6289 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6290 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6291 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6292 is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6295 @kindex W t (Summary)
6296 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6297 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6298 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6301 @kindex W v (Summary)
6302 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6303 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6304 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6307 @kindex W m (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6309 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6313 @kindex W o (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6315 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6318 @kindex W d (Summary)
6319 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6320 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6323 @kindex W w (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6325 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6326 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6327 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6329 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6333 @kindex W c (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6335 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6336 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6339 @kindex W q (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6341 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6342 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6343 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6344 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6348 @kindex W f (Summary)
6350 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6351 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6352 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6353 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6359 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6360 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6361 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6362 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6363 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6364 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6365 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6366 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6367 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6368 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6369 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6370 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6371 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6372 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6376 @kindex W b (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6378 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6379 @xref{Article Buttons}
6382 @kindex W B (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6384 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6385 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6388 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6390 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6391 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6394 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6395 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6396 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6397 lines with a single empty line.
6398 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6401 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6403 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6404 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6407 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6409 Do all the three commands above
6410 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6413 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6415 Remove all blank lines
6416 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6419 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6420 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6421 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6422 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6427 @node Article Buttons
6428 @subsection Article Buttons
6431 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6432 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6433 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6434 button on these references.
6436 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6437 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6438 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6443 @item gnus-button-alist
6444 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6445 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6448 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6454 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6455 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6456 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6459 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6460 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6461 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6464 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6465 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6466 avoid false matches.
6469 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6472 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6473 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6477 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6480 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6483 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6484 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6485 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6486 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6487 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6490 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6493 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6495 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6496 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6497 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6498 default values of the variables above.
6500 @item gnus-article-button-face
6501 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6502 Face used on buttons.
6504 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6505 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6506 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6512 @subsection Article Date
6514 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6515 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6516 when the article was sent.
6521 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6522 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6523 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6524 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6527 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6528 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6529 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6532 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6533 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6534 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6535 @findex format-time-string
6536 Display the date using a user-defined format
6537 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6538 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6539 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6540 for a list of possible format specs.
6543 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6544 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6545 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6546 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6547 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6548 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6549 updated continually, you can put
6552 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6555 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6556 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6560 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6561 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6562 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6563 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6564 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6565 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6566 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6571 @node Article Signature
6572 @subsection Article Signature
6574 @cindex article signature
6576 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6577 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6578 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6579 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6580 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6581 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6582 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6583 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6584 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6587 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6588 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6589 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6590 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6591 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6592 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6593 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6594 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6597 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6600 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6601 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6606 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6609 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6612 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6613 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6615 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6616 in question is not a signature.
6619 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6620 listed above. Here's an example:
6623 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6624 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6627 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6628 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6629 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6630 signature after all.
6633 @node Article Commands
6634 @section Article Commands
6641 @kindex A P (Summary)
6642 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6643 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6644 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6645 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6646 run just before printing the buffer.
6651 @node Summary Sorting
6652 @section Summary Sorting
6653 @cindex summary sorting
6655 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6656 can't really see why you'd want that.
6661 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6662 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6663 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6666 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6667 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6668 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6671 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6672 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6673 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6676 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6677 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6678 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6681 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6682 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6683 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6686 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6687 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6688 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6691 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6692 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6693 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6694 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6695 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6699 @node Finding the Parent
6700 @section Finding the Parent
6701 @cindex parent articles
6702 @cindex referring articles
6707 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6708 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6709 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6710 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6711 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6712 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6713 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6714 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6715 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6717 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6718 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6719 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6720 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6721 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6725 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6726 @kindex A R (Summary)
6727 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6728 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6731 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6732 @kindex A T (Summary)
6733 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6734 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6735 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6736 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6737 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6738 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6739 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6741 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6742 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6743 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6744 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6745 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6746 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6749 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6750 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6752 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6753 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6754 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6755 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6756 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6757 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6758 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6761 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6762 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6763 by giving this command a prefix.
6765 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6766 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6767 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6768 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6769 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6770 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6773 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6774 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6775 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6776 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6777 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6778 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6781 @node Alternative Approaches
6782 @section Alternative Approaches
6784 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6785 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6788 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6789 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6794 @subsection Pick and Read
6795 @cindex pick and read
6797 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6798 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6799 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6800 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6802 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6803 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6804 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6805 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6806 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6807 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6809 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6814 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6815 Pick the article on the current line
6816 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6817 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6818 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6821 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6822 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6823 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6824 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6828 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6829 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6833 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6834 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6838 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6839 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6843 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6844 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6848 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6849 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6853 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6854 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6858 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6859 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6863 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6864 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6868 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6869 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6873 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6874 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6878 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6879 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6880 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6881 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6882 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6883 will still be visible when you are reading.
6887 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6890 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6893 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6894 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6896 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6897 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6898 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6900 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6901 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6902 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6903 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6904 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6905 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6906 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6910 @subsection Binary Groups
6911 @cindex binary groups
6913 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6914 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6915 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6916 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6917 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6918 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6919 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6922 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6923 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6924 command, when you have turned on this mode
6925 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6927 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6928 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6932 @section Tree Display
6935 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6936 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6937 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6938 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6941 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6944 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6945 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6946 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6948 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6949 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6950 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6951 is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
6954 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6955 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6956 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6957 default is @code{modeline}.
6959 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6960 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6961 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6962 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6963 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6964 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6965 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6971 The name of the poster.
6973 The @code{From} header.
6975 The number of the article.
6977 The opening bracket.
6979 The closing bracket.
6984 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6986 Variables related to the display are:
6989 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6990 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6991 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6992 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6993 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6994 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
6996 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6997 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6998 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6999 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7003 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7004 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7005 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7006 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7007 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7008 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7009 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7010 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7011 other windows displayed next to it.
7013 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7014 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7015 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7016 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7017 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7018 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7019 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7023 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7026 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7036 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7040 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7041 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7043 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7045 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7050 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7051 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7052 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7055 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7056 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7057 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7058 (gnus-add-configuration
7062 (summary 0.75 point)
7067 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7070 @node Mail Group Commands
7071 @section Mail Group Commands
7072 @cindex mail group commands
7074 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7075 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7077 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7078 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7083 @kindex B e (Summary)
7084 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7085 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7086 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7089 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7091 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7092 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7093 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7094 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7097 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7098 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7099 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7100 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7101 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7102 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7105 @kindex B m (Summary)
7107 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7108 Move the article from one mail group to another
7109 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7112 @kindex B c (Summary)
7114 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7115 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7116 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7117 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7120 @kindex B C (Summary)
7121 @cindex crosspost mail
7122 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7123 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7124 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7125 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7126 be properly updated.
7129 @kindex B i (Summary)
7130 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7131 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7132 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7133 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7136 @kindex B r (Summary)
7137 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7138 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7139 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7140 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7141 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7145 @kindex B w (Summary)
7147 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7148 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7149 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7150 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7151 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7152 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7155 @kindex B q (Summary)
7156 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7157 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7158 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7159 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7162 @kindex B p (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7164 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7165 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7166 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7167 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7168 article from your news server (or rather, from
7169 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7170 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7171 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7172 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7173 just not have arrived yet.
7177 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7178 @cindex moving articles
7179 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7180 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7181 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7182 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7183 suggestions you find reasonable.
7186 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7187 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7188 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7189 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7193 @node Various Summary Stuff
7194 @section Various Summary Stuff
7197 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7198 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7199 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7200 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7204 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7205 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7206 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7208 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7209 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7210 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7211 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7212 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7213 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7216 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7217 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7218 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7219 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7220 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7222 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7223 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7224 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7225 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7226 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7227 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7228 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7229 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7230 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7231 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7236 @node Summary Group Information
7237 @subsection Summary Group Information
7242 @kindex H f (Summary)
7243 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7244 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7245 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7246 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7247 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7248 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7249 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7250 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7251 be used for fetching the file.
7254 @kindex H d (Summary)
7255 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7256 Give a brief description of the current group
7257 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7258 rereading the description from the server.
7261 @kindex H h (Summary)
7262 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7263 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7264 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7267 @kindex H i (Summary)
7268 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7269 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7273 @node Searching for Articles
7274 @subsection Searching for Articles
7279 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7280 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7281 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7282 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7285 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7286 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7287 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7288 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7292 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7293 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7294 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7295 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7299 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7300 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7301 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7302 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7305 @node Summary Generation Commands
7306 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7311 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7312 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7313 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7316 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7317 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7318 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7319 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7324 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7325 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7330 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7331 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7332 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7333 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7334 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7335 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7336 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7337 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7338 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7342 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7343 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7344 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7345 several documents into one biiig group
7346 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7347 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7348 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7349 command understands the process/prefix convention
7350 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7353 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7354 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7355 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7356 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7357 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7358 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7362 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7363 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7364 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7369 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7370 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7371 @cindex summary exit
7372 @cindex exiting groups
7374 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7375 group and return you to the group buffer.
7381 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7383 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7384 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7385 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7386 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7387 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7388 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7389 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7390 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7391 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7392 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7393 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7397 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7400 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7401 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7405 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7407 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7408 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7409 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7410 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7413 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7414 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7415 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7416 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7419 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7420 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7421 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7422 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7425 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7426 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7427 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7428 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7429 all articles, both read and unread.
7433 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7434 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7435 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7436 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7437 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7438 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7439 articles, both read and unread.
7442 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7443 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7444 Exit the group and go to the next group
7445 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7448 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7449 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7450 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7451 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7454 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7455 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7456 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7457 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7458 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7459 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7462 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7463 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7466 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7467 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7468 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7469 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7470 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7471 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7472 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7473 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7474 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7475 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7476 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7477 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7479 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7481 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7482 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7483 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7484 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7485 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7486 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7487 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7488 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7489 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7492 @node Crosspost Handling
7493 @section Crosspost Handling
7497 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7498 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7499 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7500 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7501 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7502 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7505 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7506 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7507 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7508 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7509 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7511 @cindex cross-posting
7514 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7515 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7516 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7517 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7518 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7519 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7520 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7521 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7522 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7523 the cross reference mechanism.
7525 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7526 @cindex overview.fmt
7527 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7528 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7529 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7530 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7531 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7532 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7535 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7536 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7537 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7542 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7545 @node Duplicate Suppression
7546 @section Duplicate Suppression
7548 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7549 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7550 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7551 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7556 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7557 is evil and not very common.
7560 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7561 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7564 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7565 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7568 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7571 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7572 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7574 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7575 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7576 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7577 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7578 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7579 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7580 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7583 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7584 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7585 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7586 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7587 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7591 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7592 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7593 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7595 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7596 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7597 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7598 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7599 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7600 session are suppressed.
7602 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7603 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7604 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7605 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7607 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7608 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7609 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7610 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7613 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7614 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7615 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7616 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7617 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7618 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7619 to you to figure out, I think.
7622 @node The Article Buffer
7623 @chapter The Article Buffer
7624 @cindex article buffer
7626 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7627 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7628 tell Gnus otherwise.
7631 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7632 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7633 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7634 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7635 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7639 @node Hiding Headers
7640 @section Hiding Headers
7641 @cindex hiding headers
7642 @cindex deleting headers
7644 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7645 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7647 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7648 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7649 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7650 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7651 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7652 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7653 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7654 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7655 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7657 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7661 @item gnus-visible-headers
7662 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7663 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7664 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7665 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7667 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7668 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7671 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7674 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7677 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7678 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7679 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7680 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7681 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7682 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7684 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7685 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7688 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7691 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7694 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7695 variable will have no effect.
7699 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7700 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7701 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7702 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7703 the headers are to be displayed.
7705 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7706 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7709 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7712 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7713 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7715 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7716 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7717 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7718 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7719 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7720 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7721 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7722 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7723 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7725 These conditions are:
7728 Remove all empty headers.
7730 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7733 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7734 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7736 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7739 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7742 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7744 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7747 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7750 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7751 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7754 This is also the default value for this variable.
7758 @section Using @sc{mime}
7761 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7762 while people stand around yawning.
7764 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7765 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7767 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7768 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7769 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7771 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7772 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7773 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7774 @findex metamail-buffer
7775 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7776 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7777 default. This function calls the external @code{metamail} program to
7778 actually do the work. One common problem with this program is that is
7779 thinks that it can't display 8-bit things in the Emacs buffer. To tell
7780 it the truth, put something like the following in your
7781 @file{.bash_profile} file. (You do use @code{bash}, don't you?)
7784 export MM_CHARSET="iso-8859-1"
7787 For more information on @code{metamail}, see its manual page.
7789 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7790 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7791 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7792 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7793 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7794 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7796 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7797 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7798 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7799 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7800 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7801 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7802 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7803 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7804 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7806 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7809 @node Customizing Articles
7810 @section Customizing Articles
7811 @cindex article customization
7813 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7814 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7815 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7816 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7818 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7819 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7820 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7821 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7822 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7823 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7824 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7825 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7826 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7828 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7829 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7830 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7831 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7832 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7835 @node Article Keymap
7836 @section Article Keymap
7838 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7839 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7840 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7841 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7844 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7849 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7850 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7851 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7854 @kindex DEL (Article)
7855 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7856 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7859 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7860 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7861 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7862 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7863 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7866 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7867 @findex gnus-article-mail
7868 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7869 given a prefix, include the mail.
7873 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7874 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7875 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7879 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7880 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7881 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7884 @kindex TAB (Article)
7885 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7886 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7887 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7890 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7891 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7892 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7898 @section Misc Article
7902 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7903 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7904 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7905 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7908 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7909 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7910 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7911 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7912 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7913 the contents of the article buffer.
7915 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7916 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7917 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7918 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7919 hiding headers, and the like.
7921 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7922 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7923 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7925 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7926 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7927 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7928 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7930 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7931 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7932 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7933 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7934 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7938 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7939 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7943 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7945 @item gnus-break-pages
7946 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7947 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7948 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7949 paging will not be done.
7951 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7952 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7953 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7958 @node Composing Messages
7959 @chapter Composing Messages
7960 @cindex composing messages
7963 @cindex sending mail
7968 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7969 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7970 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7971 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7972 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7973 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7974 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7977 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7978 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7979 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7980 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7981 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7982 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7983 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7986 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7987 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7993 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7996 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7997 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7998 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7999 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8001 @item gnus-add-to-list
8002 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8003 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8004 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8012 Variables for composing news articles:
8015 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8016 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8017 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8018 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8019 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8020 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8021 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8022 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8023 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8026 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8027 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8028 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8029 file. It is 1000 by default.
8034 @node Posting Server
8035 @section Posting Server
8037 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8038 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8040 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8042 @vindex gnus-post-method
8044 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8045 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8046 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8047 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8048 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8051 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8054 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8055 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8056 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8057 the ``current'' server for posting.
8059 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8060 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8062 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8063 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8068 @section Mail and Post
8070 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8074 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8075 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8076 @cindex mailing lists
8078 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8079 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8080 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8081 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8082 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8083 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8084 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8085 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8086 still a pain, though.
8090 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8091 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8092 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8095 @findex ispell-message
8097 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8101 @node Archived Messages
8102 @section Archived Messages
8103 @cindex archived messages
8104 @cindex sent messages
8106 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8107 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8108 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8109 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8112 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8113 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8114 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8118 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8119 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8120 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8121 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8124 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8125 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8126 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8127 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8130 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8131 '(nnfolder "archive"
8132 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8133 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8134 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8137 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8139 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8140 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8141 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8143 This variable can be used to do the following:
8147 Messages will be saved in that group.
8148 @item a list of strings
8149 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8150 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8151 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8153 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8158 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8160 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8163 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8165 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8168 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8170 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8171 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8172 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8173 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8178 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8179 '((if (message-news-p)
8184 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8185 messages in one file per month:
8188 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8189 '((if (message-news-p)
8191 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8192 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8195 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8196 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8198 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8199 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8200 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8201 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8202 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8203 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8204 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8205 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8206 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8207 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8209 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8210 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8211 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8212 this will disable archiving.
8215 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8216 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8217 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8218 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8219 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8222 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8223 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8224 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8227 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8228 but the latter is the preferred method.
8232 @c @node Posting Styles
8233 @c @section Posting Styles
8234 @c @cindex posting styles
8237 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8239 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8240 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8241 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8244 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8245 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8246 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8247 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8248 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8253 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8254 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8256 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8257 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8258 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8261 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8262 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8263 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8264 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8265 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8266 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8267 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8268 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8270 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8271 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8272 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8273 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8274 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8275 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8278 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8279 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8280 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8281 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8282 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8285 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8286 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8287 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8289 @c So here's a new example:
8292 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8294 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8295 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8296 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8297 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8299 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8300 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8301 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8302 @c (posting-from-work-p
8303 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8304 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8305 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8307 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8314 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8315 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8316 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8317 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8318 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8320 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8321 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8322 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8323 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8324 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8328 @vindex nndraft-directory
8329 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8330 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8331 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8332 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8333 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8334 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8336 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8337 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8340 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8341 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8342 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8343 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8344 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8345 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8346 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8347 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8348 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8349 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8350 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8351 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8352 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8353 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8355 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8356 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8357 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8359 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8361 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8362 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8363 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8365 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8368 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8369 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8370 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8371 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8372 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8373 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8374 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8377 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8378 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8379 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8382 @node Rejected Articles
8383 @section Rejected Articles
8384 @cindex rejected articles
8386 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8387 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8388 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8389 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8391 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8392 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8393 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8394 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8395 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8397 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8398 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8399 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8402 @node Select Methods
8403 @chapter Select Methods
8404 @cindex foreign groups
8405 @cindex select methods
8407 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8408 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8409 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8410 personal mail group.
8412 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8413 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8414 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8415 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8416 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8417 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8419 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8420 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8422 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8425 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8426 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8427 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8428 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8429 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8431 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8434 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8435 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8436 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8437 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8438 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8439 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8443 @node The Server Buffer
8444 @section The Server Buffer
8446 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8447 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8448 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8449 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8450 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8451 backend represents a virtual server.
8453 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8454 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8455 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8456 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8458 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8459 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8460 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8461 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8462 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8463 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8464 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8466 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8467 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8470 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8471 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8472 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8473 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8474 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8475 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8476 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8479 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8480 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8483 @node Server Buffer Format
8484 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8485 @cindex server buffer format
8487 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8488 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8489 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8490 variable, with some simple extensions:
8495 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8498 The name of this server.
8501 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8504 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8507 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8508 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8509 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8520 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8523 @node Server Commands
8524 @subsection Server Commands
8525 @cindex server commands
8531 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8532 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8536 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8537 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8540 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8541 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8542 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8546 @findex gnus-server-exit
8547 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8551 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8552 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8556 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8557 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8561 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8562 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8566 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8567 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8571 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8572 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8573 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8578 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8579 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8580 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8581 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8586 @node Example Methods
8587 @subsection Example Methods
8589 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8592 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8595 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8601 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8602 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8605 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8606 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8608 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8609 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8613 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8616 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8617 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8619 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8620 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8621 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8625 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8628 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8631 Here's the method for a public spool:
8635 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8636 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8639 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8640 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8641 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8642 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8643 should probably look something like this:
8647 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8648 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8649 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8650 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8651 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8656 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8657 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8659 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8660 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8662 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8663 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8664 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8666 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8668 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8669 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8670 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8671 will contain the following:
8681 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8682 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8683 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8686 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8687 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8688 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8691 @node Server Variables
8692 @subsection Server Variables
8694 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8695 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8696 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8697 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8698 won't change the "derived" variables.
8700 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8701 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8702 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8703 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8704 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8705 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8706 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8707 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8708 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8712 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8713 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8714 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8718 @node Servers and Methods
8719 @subsection Servers and Methods
8721 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8722 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8723 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8724 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8728 @node Unavailable Servers
8729 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8731 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8732 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8733 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8734 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8735 actually the case or not.
8737 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8738 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8739 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8740 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8741 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8742 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8743 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8744 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8746 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8747 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8749 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8750 with the following commands:
8756 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8757 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8758 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8762 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8763 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8764 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8768 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8769 Mark the current server as unreachable
8770 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8773 @kindex M-o (Server)
8774 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8775 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8776 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8779 @kindex M-c (Server)
8780 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8781 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8782 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8786 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8787 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8788 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8794 @section Getting News
8795 @cindex reading news
8796 @cindex news backends
8798 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8799 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8800 or it can read from a local spool.
8803 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8804 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8809 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8812 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8813 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8814 server as the, uhm, address.
8816 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8817 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8818 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8819 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8821 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8822 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8823 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8825 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8830 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8831 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8832 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8834 @cindex authentification
8835 @cindex nntp authentification
8836 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8837 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8838 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8839 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8840 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8841 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8842 present in this hook.
8844 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8845 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8846 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8847 server. Available functions include:
8850 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8851 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8852 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8853 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8855 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8856 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8857 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8859 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8860 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8861 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8862 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8865 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8866 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8867 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8868 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8869 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8872 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8876 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8878 The default value is
8881 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8882 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8885 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8886 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8888 @item nntp-maximum-request
8889 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8890 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8891 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8892 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8893 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8894 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8895 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8897 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8898 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8899 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8900 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8901 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8902 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8903 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8904 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8905 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8906 no timeouts are done.
8908 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
8909 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8910 @c @cindex PPP connections
8911 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8912 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8913 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8914 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8915 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8916 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8917 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
8918 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8919 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8920 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
8922 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
8923 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8924 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8925 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8928 @item nntp-server-hook
8929 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8930 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8933 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8934 @findex nntp-open-telnet
8935 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8936 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8937 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8938 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
8939 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8940 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8941 two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
8942 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
8943 available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
8944 to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
8947 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
8951 @item nntp-rlogin-program
8952 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
8953 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
8954 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
8956 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8957 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8958 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8960 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8961 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8962 User name on the remote system.
8966 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
8969 @item nntp-telnet-command
8970 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
8971 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
8973 @item nntp-telnet-switches
8974 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
8975 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
8977 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
8978 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
8979 User name for log in on the remote system.
8981 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
8982 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
8983 Password to use when logging in.
8985 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
8986 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
8987 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
8992 @item nntp-end-of-line
8993 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8994 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8995 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8996 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8998 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8999 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9000 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9004 @vindex nntp-address
9005 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9007 @item nntp-port-number
9008 @vindex nntp-port-number
9009 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9012 @item nntp-buggy-select
9013 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9014 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9016 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9017 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9018 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9019 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9022 @item nntp-xover-commands
9023 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9026 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9027 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9031 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9032 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9033 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9034 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9035 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9036 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9037 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9038 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9039 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9040 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9041 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9043 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9044 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9045 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9047 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9048 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9049 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9050 server closes connection.
9056 @subsection News Spool
9060 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9061 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9062 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9065 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9066 anything else) as the address.
9068 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9069 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9070 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9071 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9075 @item nnspool-inews-program
9076 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9077 Program used to post an article.
9079 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9080 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9081 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9083 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9084 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9085 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9086 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9088 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9089 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9090 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9091 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9093 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9094 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9095 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9097 @item nnspool-active-file
9098 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9099 The path to the active file.
9101 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9102 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9103 The path to the group descriptions file.
9105 @item nnspool-history-file
9106 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9107 The path to the news history file.
9109 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9110 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9111 The path to the active date file.
9113 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9114 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9115 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9118 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9119 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9121 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9122 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9123 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9129 @section Getting Mail
9130 @cindex reading mail
9133 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9137 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9138 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9139 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9140 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9141 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9142 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9143 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9144 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9145 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9146 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9147 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9151 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9152 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9154 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9155 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9156 and things will happen automatically.
9158 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9159 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9162 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9163 '((nnml "private")))
9166 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9167 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9168 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9169 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9170 like any other group.
9172 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9175 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9176 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9177 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9181 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9182 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9183 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9186 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9187 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9188 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9191 @node Splitting Mail
9192 @subsection Splitting Mail
9193 @cindex splitting mail
9194 @cindex mail splitting
9196 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9197 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9198 to be split into groups.
9201 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9202 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9203 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9207 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9208 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9209 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9210 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9211 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9212 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9213 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9216 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9219 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9220 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9223 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9224 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9225 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9226 mail belongs in that group.
9228 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9229 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9230 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9231 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9232 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9233 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9235 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9236 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9237 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9238 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9239 thinks should carry this mail message.
9241 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9242 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9243 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9244 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9246 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9247 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9248 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9249 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9250 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9252 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9255 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9256 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9257 links. If that's the case for you, set
9258 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9259 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9261 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9262 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9263 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9264 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9266 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9267 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9268 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9269 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9270 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9271 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9272 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9273 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9277 @node Mail Backend Variables
9278 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9280 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9284 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9285 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9286 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9287 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9289 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9290 @item nnmail-spool-file
9294 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9295 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9296 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9297 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9298 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9299 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9300 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9301 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9302 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9303 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9304 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9305 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9306 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9307 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9308 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9310 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9312 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9313 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9316 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9317 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9318 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9319 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9320 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9321 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9323 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9324 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9325 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9326 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9327 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9328 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9329 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9332 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9333 @item nnmail-crash-box
9334 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9335 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9336 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9339 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9340 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9341 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9342 used for, well, anything, really.
9344 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9345 @item nnmail-split-hook
9346 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9347 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9348 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9349 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9350 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9351 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9352 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9353 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9355 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9356 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9357 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9358 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9359 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9360 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9361 starting to handle the new mail) and
9362 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9363 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9364 default file modes the new mail files get:
9367 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9368 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9370 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9371 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9374 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9375 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9376 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9377 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9378 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9379 it will be used instead.
9381 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9382 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9383 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9384 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9386 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9387 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9390 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9391 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9392 @cindex incoming mail files
9393 @cindex deleting incoming files
9394 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9395 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9398 @c This is @code{nil} by
9399 @c default for reasons of security.
9401 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9402 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9403 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9404 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9405 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9408 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9410 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9411 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9412 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9413 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9414 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9415 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9416 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9418 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9419 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9421 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9423 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9424 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9425 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9426 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9427 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9432 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9433 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9434 @cindex mail splitting
9435 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9437 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9438 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9439 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9440 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9441 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9442 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9444 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9447 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9448 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9449 ;; from real errors.
9450 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9452 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9453 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9454 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9455 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9456 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9457 ;; Other mailing lists...
9458 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9459 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9461 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9462 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9466 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9467 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9468 the five possible split syntaxes:
9473 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9476 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9477 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9478 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9481 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9482 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9483 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9484 be stored in one or more groups.
9487 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9488 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9491 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9495 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9496 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9497 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9502 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9503 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9504 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9505 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9506 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9508 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9509 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9510 are expanded as specified by the variable
9511 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9512 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9515 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9516 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9517 when all this splitting is performed.
9519 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9520 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9521 substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
9524 (any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9527 @node Mail and Procmail
9528 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9533 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9534 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9535 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9536 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9537 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9539 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9540 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9543 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9544 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9545 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9546 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9547 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9548 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9550 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9553 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9555 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9556 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9558 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9559 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9560 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9561 to include all your mail groups.
9563 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9564 method will be created automatically.
9566 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9567 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9568 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9569 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9570 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9571 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9572 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9573 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9575 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9576 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9577 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9578 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9579 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9581 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9582 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9583 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9584 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9585 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9586 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9588 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9589 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9590 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9591 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9592 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9595 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9596 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9597 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9598 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9599 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9603 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9604 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9606 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9607 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9608 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9611 Doing so can be quite easy.
9613 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9614 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9615 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9616 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9617 your @code{nnml} groups.
9623 Go to the group buffer.
9626 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9627 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9630 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9633 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9634 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9637 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9638 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9641 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9642 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9643 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9644 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9645 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9647 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9648 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9649 using the new mail backend.
9653 @subsection Expiring Mail
9654 @cindex article expiry
9656 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9657 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9658 different approach to mail reading.
9660 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9661 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9662 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9663 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9664 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9665 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9668 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9669 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9670 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9671 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9672 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9673 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9674 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9675 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9677 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9678 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9679 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9680 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9681 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9682 column in the summary buffer.
9684 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9685 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9686 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9687 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9690 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9692 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9693 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9694 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9697 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9698 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9699 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9700 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9701 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9703 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9704 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9707 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9708 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9711 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9712 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9714 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9715 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9716 don't really mix very well.
9718 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9719 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9720 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9721 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9724 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9725 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9726 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9727 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9730 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9732 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9734 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9736 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9738 ((string= group "important")
9744 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9745 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9747 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9748 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9749 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9752 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9753 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9755 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9756 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9757 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9758 easier for procmail users.
9760 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9761 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9762 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9763 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9764 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9765 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9766 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9767 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9768 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9769 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9770 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9771 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9772 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9775 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9779 @subsection Washing Mail
9780 @cindex mail washing
9781 @cindex list server brain damage
9782 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9784 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9785 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9786 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9787 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9788 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9789 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9791 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9792 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9793 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9796 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9797 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9798 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9799 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9802 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9803 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9804 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9805 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9808 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9809 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9810 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9811 Emacs running on MS machines.
9815 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9816 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9817 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9818 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9821 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9822 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9823 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9824 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9826 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9827 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9828 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9829 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9830 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9831 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9832 also be a list of regexp.
9834 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9835 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9838 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9839 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9842 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9843 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9844 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9848 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9849 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9850 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9854 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9855 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9856 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9863 @subsection Duplicates
9865 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9866 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9867 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9868 @cindex duplicate mails
9869 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
9870 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9871 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9872 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9873 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9874 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9875 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9876 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9877 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9878 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9879 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9880 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
9881 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
9883 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9884 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9885 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9886 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9888 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9891 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9892 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9896 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9897 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9898 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9899 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9900 (any mail "mail.misc")
9907 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9908 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9913 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9914 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9915 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9916 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9917 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9920 @node Not Reading Mail
9921 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9923 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9924 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9925 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9927 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9928 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9930 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9931 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9932 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9933 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9934 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9935 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9936 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9937 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9938 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9939 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9940 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9942 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9943 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9947 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9948 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9950 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9951 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9952 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9955 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9956 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9957 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9958 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9959 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9964 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9966 @cindex unix mail box
9968 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9969 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9970 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9971 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9972 which group it belongs in.
9974 Virtual server settings:
9977 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9978 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9979 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9981 @item nnmbox-active-file
9982 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9983 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9985 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9986 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9987 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9993 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9997 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9998 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9999 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10000 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10001 article to say which group it belongs in.
10003 Virtual server settings:
10006 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10007 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10008 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10010 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10011 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10012 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10014 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10015 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10016 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10021 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10023 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10025 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10026 format. It should be used with some caution.
10028 @vindex nnml-directory
10029 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10030 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10031 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10032 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10034 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10037 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10038 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10039 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10040 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10041 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10042 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10043 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10044 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10046 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10047 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10048 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10049 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10051 Virtual server settings:
10054 @item nnml-directory
10055 @vindex nnml-directory
10056 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10058 @item nnml-active-file
10059 @vindex nnml-active-file
10060 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10062 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10063 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10064 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10067 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10068 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10069 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10071 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10072 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10073 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10075 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10076 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10077 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10079 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10080 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10081 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10085 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10086 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10087 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10088 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10089 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10090 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10091 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10096 @subsubsection MH Spool
10098 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10100 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10101 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10102 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10103 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10105 Virtual server settings:
10108 @item nnmh-directory
10109 @vindex nnmh-directory
10110 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10112 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10113 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10114 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10117 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10118 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10119 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10120 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10121 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10122 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10123 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10128 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10130 @cindex mbox folders
10131 @cindex mail folders
10133 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10134 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10135 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10138 Virtual server settings:
10141 @item nnfolder-directory
10142 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10143 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10145 @item nnfolder-active-file
10146 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10147 The name of the active file.
10149 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10150 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10151 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10153 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10154 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10155 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10158 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10159 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10160 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10161 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10162 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10163 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10166 @node Other Sources
10167 @section Other Sources
10169 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10170 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10174 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10175 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10176 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10177 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10178 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10179 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10183 @node Directory Groups
10184 @subsection Directory Groups
10186 @cindex directory groups
10188 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10189 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10192 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10193 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10194 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10195 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10197 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10198 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10199 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10200 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10201 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10203 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10205 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10206 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10207 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10208 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10211 @node Anything Groups
10212 @subsection Anything Groups
10215 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10216 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10217 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10220 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10221 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10222 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10223 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10224 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10225 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10226 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10227 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10228 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10229 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10232 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10233 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10234 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10235 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10237 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10238 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10239 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10240 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10242 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10243 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10244 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10245 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10246 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10247 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10248 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10249 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10254 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10255 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10256 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10257 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10259 @item nneething-exclude-files
10260 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10261 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10262 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10264 @item nneething-map-file
10265 @vindex nneething-map-file
10266 Name of the map files.
10270 @node Document Groups
10271 @subsection Document Groups
10273 @cindex documentation group
10276 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10277 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10284 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10289 The standard Unix mbox file.
10291 @cindex MMDF mail box
10293 The MMDF mail box format.
10296 Several news articles appended into a file.
10299 @cindex rnews batch files
10300 The rnews batch transport format.
10301 @cindex forwarded messages
10304 Forwarded articles.
10308 @cindex MIME digest
10309 @cindex 1153 digest
10310 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10311 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10312 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10314 @item standard-digest
10315 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10318 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10321 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10322 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10323 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10326 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10327 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10328 group. And that's it.
10330 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10331 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10332 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10333 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10334 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10335 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10336 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10337 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10338 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10339 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10341 Virtual server variables:
10344 @item nndoc-article-type
10345 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10346 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10347 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10348 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10349 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10351 @item nndoc-post-type
10352 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10353 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10354 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10359 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10363 @node Document Server Internals
10364 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10366 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10367 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10368 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10369 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10371 First, here's an example document type definition:
10375 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10376 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10379 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10380 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10381 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10382 types can be defined with very few settings:
10385 @item first-article
10386 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10387 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10390 @item article-begin
10391 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10392 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10394 @item head-begin-function
10395 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10398 @item nndoc-head-begin
10399 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10402 @item nndoc-head-end
10403 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10404 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10406 @item body-begin-function
10407 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10411 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10414 @item body-end-function
10415 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10419 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10422 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10423 regexp will be totally ignored.
10427 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10428 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10429 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10430 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10431 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10434 @item prepare-body-function
10435 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10436 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10437 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10439 @item article-transform-function
10440 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10441 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10442 body of the article.
10444 @item generate-head-function
10445 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10446 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10447 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10448 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10452 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10457 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10458 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10459 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10460 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10461 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10462 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10463 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10464 (subtype digest guess))
10467 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10468 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10469 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10470 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10471 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10473 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10474 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10475 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10476 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10477 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
10478 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10479 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10480 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10481 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10482 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10490 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10491 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10492 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10494 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10495 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10496 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10499 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10500 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10501 that interested in doing things properly.
10503 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10504 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10507 First some terminology:
10512 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10513 get news and/or mail from.
10516 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10517 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10520 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10524 @item message packets
10525 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10526 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10527 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10529 @item response packets
10530 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10531 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10532 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10542 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10543 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10544 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10545 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10548 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10551 You put the packet in your home directory.
10554 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10555 the native or secondary server.
10558 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10559 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10562 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10566 You transfer this packet to the server.
10569 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10572 You then repeat until you die.
10576 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10577 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10580 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10581 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10582 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10586 @node SOUP Commands
10587 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10589 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10593 @kindex G s b (Group)
10594 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10595 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10596 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10597 process/prefix convention.
10600 @kindex G s w (Group)
10601 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10602 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10605 @kindex G s s (Group)
10606 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10607 Send all replies from the replies packet
10608 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10611 @kindex G s p (Group)
10612 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10613 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10616 @kindex G s r (Group)
10617 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10618 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10621 @kindex O s (Summary)
10622 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10623 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10624 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10625 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10630 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10635 @item gnus-soup-directory
10636 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10637 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10638 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10640 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10641 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10642 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10643 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10645 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10646 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10647 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10648 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10650 @item gnus-soup-packer
10651 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10652 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10653 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10655 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10656 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10657 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10658 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10660 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10661 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10662 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10664 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10665 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10666 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10667 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10673 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10676 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10677 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10678 you can read them at leisure.
10680 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10684 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10685 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10686 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10687 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10689 @item nnsoup-directory
10690 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10691 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10692 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10694 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10695 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10696 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10697 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10699 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10700 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10701 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10702 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10703 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10705 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10706 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10707 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10708 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10710 @item nnsoup-active-file
10711 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10712 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10713 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10714 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10715 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10717 @item nnsoup-packer
10718 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10719 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10720 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10722 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10723 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10724 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10725 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10727 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10728 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10729 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10732 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10733 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10734 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10737 @item nnsoup-always-save
10738 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10739 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10745 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10747 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10748 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10749 more for that to happen.
10751 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10752 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10753 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10756 In specific, this is what it does:
10759 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10760 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10763 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10764 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10765 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10769 @subsection Web Searches
10773 @cindex InReference
10774 @cindex Usenet searches
10775 @cindex searching the Usenet
10777 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10778 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10779 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10780 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10781 searches without having to use a browser.
10783 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10784 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10785 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10786 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10787 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10789 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10790 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10791 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10792 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10793 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10794 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10795 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10796 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10797 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10798 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10801 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10802 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10803 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10804 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10805 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10806 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10808 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10809 to use @code{nnweb}.
10811 Virtual server variables:
10816 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10817 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
10821 @vindex nnweb-search
10822 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10824 @item nnweb-max-hits
10825 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10826 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10829 @item nnweb-type-definition
10830 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10831 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10832 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10837 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10841 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10844 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10847 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10851 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10858 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10859 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10860 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10863 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10864 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10865 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10867 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10873 @item nngateway-address
10874 @vindex nngateway-address
10875 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10877 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10878 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10879 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10880 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10881 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10882 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10883 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10886 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10887 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
10888 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
10891 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10894 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10897 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10902 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10905 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10909 @node Combined Groups
10910 @section Combined Groups
10912 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10916 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10917 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10921 @node Virtual Groups
10922 @subsection Virtual Groups
10924 @cindex virtual groups
10926 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10929 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
10930 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10931 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10933 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10934 regexp to match component groups.
10936 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10937 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10938 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10939 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10940 the virtual group.)
10942 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10943 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10946 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10949 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10950 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10952 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10953 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10954 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10955 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10958 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10961 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10962 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10963 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10964 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10965 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
10967 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
10968 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10969 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10971 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10972 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10973 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10974 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10975 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10976 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10977 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10978 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
10979 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10980 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10981 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10984 @node Kibozed Groups
10985 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10989 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10990 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10991 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10992 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10994 @kindex G k (Group)
10995 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10998 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10999 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11000 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11001 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11003 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11004 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11005 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11007 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11008 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11009 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11010 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11011 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11012 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11013 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11014 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11016 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11017 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11018 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11019 Stranger things have happened.
11021 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11022 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11024 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11025 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11026 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11027 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11028 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11029 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11031 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11032 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11035 @node Gnus Unplugged
11036 @section Gnus Unplugged
11041 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11043 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11044 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11045 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11046 read news. Believe it or not.
11048 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11049 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11050 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11051 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11052 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11054 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11055 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11056 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11057 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11058 reading news on a machine.
11060 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11064 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11065 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11069 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11070 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11077 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11079 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11082 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11083 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11084 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11085 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11086 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11087 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11088 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11093 @subsection Agent Basics
11095 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11097 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11098 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11099 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11100 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11102 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11103 connected to the net continously.
11105 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11106 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11108 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11113 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11114 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11115 already fetched while in this mode.
11118 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11119 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11120 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11123 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11124 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11125 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11126 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11129 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11130 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11131 then you read the news offline.
11134 And then you go to step 2.
11137 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11143 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11144 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11145 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11146 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11147 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11148 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11151 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11158 @node Agent Categories
11159 @subsection Agent Categories
11161 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11162 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11163 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11164 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11165 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11166 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11167 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11169 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11170 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11171 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11174 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11175 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11176 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11180 @node Category Syntax
11181 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11183 A category consists of two things.
11187 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11188 are eligible for downloading; and
11191 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11192 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11193 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11196 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11199 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11201 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11202 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11208 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11209 short (for some value of ``short'').
11211 Here's a more complex predicate:
11220 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11221 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11224 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11225 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11226 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11228 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11229 you want to do, you can write your own.
11233 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11234 lines; default 100.
11237 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11238 lines; default 200.
11241 True iff the article has a download score less than
11242 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11245 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11246 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11249 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11250 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11251 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11260 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11261 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11262 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11265 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11266 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11267 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11268 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11269 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11270 and @code{References}.
11273 @node The Category Buffer
11274 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11276 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11277 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11278 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11280 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11284 @kindex q (Category)
11285 @findex gnus-category-exit
11286 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11289 @kindex k (Category)
11290 @findex gnus-category-kill
11291 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11294 @kindex c (Category)
11295 @findex gnus-category-copy
11296 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11299 @kindex a (Category)
11300 @findex gnus-category-add
11301 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11304 @kindex p (Category)
11305 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11306 Edit the predicate of the current category
11307 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11310 @kindex g (Category)
11311 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11312 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11313 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11316 @kindex s (Category)
11317 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11318 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11319 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11322 @kindex l (Category)
11323 @findex gnus-category-list
11324 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11328 @node Category Variables
11329 @subsubsection Category Variables
11332 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11333 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11334 Hook run in category buffers.
11336 @item gnus-category-line-format
11337 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11338 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11339 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11343 The name of the category.
11346 The number of groups in the category.
11349 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11350 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11351 Format of the category mode line.
11353 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11354 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11355 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11357 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11358 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11359 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11361 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11362 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11363 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11366 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11367 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11368 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11374 @node Agent Commands
11375 @subsection Agent Commands
11377 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11378 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11379 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11383 * Group Agent Commands::
11384 * Summary Agent Commands::
11385 * Server Agent Commands::
11388 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11389 following incantation:
11391 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11393 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11398 @node Group Agent Commands
11399 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11403 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11404 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11405 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11406 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11409 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11410 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11411 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11414 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11415 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11416 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11417 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11420 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11421 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11422 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11423 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11426 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11427 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11428 Add the current group to an Agent category
11429 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11434 @node Summary Agent Commands
11435 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11439 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11440 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11441 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11444 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11445 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11446 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11447 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11450 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11451 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11452 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11455 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11456 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11457 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11462 @node Server Agent Commands
11463 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11467 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11468 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11469 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11470 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11473 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11474 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11475 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11476 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11481 @node Outgoing Messages
11482 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11484 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11485 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11486 after posting, and edit them at will.
11488 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11489 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11490 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11491 messages in the draft group.
11495 @node Agent Variables
11496 @subsection Agent Variables
11499 @item gnus-agent-directory
11500 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11501 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11502 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11504 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11505 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11506 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11507 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11508 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11511 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11512 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11513 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11515 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11516 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11517 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11522 @node Example Setup
11523 @subsection Example Setup
11525 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11526 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11527 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11530 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11531 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11532 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11534 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11535 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11536 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11537 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11539 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11540 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11542 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11546 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11547 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11550 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11551 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11552 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11553 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11554 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11557 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11558 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11559 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11560 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11561 back all the killed groups.)
11563 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11564 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11565 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11568 @node Batching Agents
11569 @subsection Batching Agents
11571 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11572 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11573 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11577 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11586 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11587 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11588 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11591 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11592 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11593 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11594 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11595 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11597 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11598 before generating the summary buffer.
11600 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11601 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11602 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11604 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11605 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11606 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11607 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11610 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11611 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11612 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11613 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11614 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11615 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11616 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11617 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11618 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11619 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11620 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11621 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11622 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11623 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11624 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11625 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11629 @node Summary Score Commands
11630 @section Summary Score Commands
11631 @cindex score commands
11633 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11634 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11635 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11636 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11637 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11639 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11640 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11641 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11642 score file the current one.
11644 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11649 @kindex V s (Summary)
11650 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11651 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11654 @kindex V S (Summary)
11655 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11656 Display the score of the current article
11657 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11660 @kindex V t (Summary)
11661 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11662 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11663 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11666 @kindex V R (Summary)
11667 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11668 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11669 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11670 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11671 effect you're having.
11674 @kindex V a (Summary)
11675 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
11676 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
11677 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
11680 @kindex V c (Summary)
11681 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11682 Make a different score file the current
11683 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11686 @kindex V e (Summary)
11687 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11688 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11689 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11693 @kindex V f (Summary)
11694 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11695 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11696 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11699 @kindex V F (Summary)
11700 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11701 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11702 after editing score files.
11705 @kindex V C (Summary)
11706 @findex gnus-score-customize
11707 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11708 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11712 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11717 @kindex V m (Summary)
11718 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11719 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11720 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11723 @kindex V x (Summary)
11724 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11725 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11726 expunge all articles below this score
11727 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11730 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11731 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11734 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11735 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11739 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11740 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11742 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11743 keys are available:
11747 Score on the author name.
11750 Score on the subject line.
11753 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11756 Score on thread---the References line.
11762 Score on the number of lines.
11765 Score on the Message-ID.
11768 Score on followups.
11778 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11779 what headers you are scoring on.
11791 Substring matching.
11794 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
11823 Greater than number.
11828 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
11829 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
11830 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
11834 Temporary score entry.
11837 Permanent score entry.
11840 Immediately scoring.
11845 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
11846 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
11847 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
11848 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
11850 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
11851 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
11852 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
11853 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
11854 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
11856 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
11857 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
11858 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
11859 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
11860 current score file.
11862 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
11863 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
11864 pretend they are keymaps or not.
11867 @node Group Score Commands
11868 @section Group Score Commands
11869 @cindex group score commands
11871 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
11876 @kindex W f (Group)
11877 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11878 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
11879 all the time. This command will flush the cache
11880 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
11884 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
11886 @findex gnus-batch-score
11887 @cindex batch scoring
11889 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
11893 @node Score Variables
11894 @section Score Variables
11895 @cindex score variables
11899 @item gnus-use-scoring
11900 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
11901 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
11902 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
11904 @item gnus-kill-killed
11905 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
11906 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
11907 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
11908 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
11909 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
11910 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
11911 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
11913 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
11914 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
11915 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
11916 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
11917 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
11919 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
11920 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
11921 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
11922 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
11924 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11925 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11926 @cindex score cache
11927 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
11928 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
11929 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
11930 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
11931 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
11932 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
11935 @item gnus-save-score
11936 @vindex gnus-save-score
11937 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
11938 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
11939 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
11941 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11942 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11943 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
11944 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
11945 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
11946 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
11947 manually entered data.
11949 @item gnus-summary-default-score
11950 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
11951 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
11953 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
11954 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
11955 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
11956 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
11957 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
11958 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
11960 @item gnus-score-over-mark
11961 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
11962 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
11963 default. Default is @samp{+}.
11965 @item gnus-score-below-mark
11966 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
11967 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
11968 default. Default is @samp{-}.
11970 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11971 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11972 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
11973 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
11975 Predefined functions available are:
11978 @item gnus-score-find-single
11979 @findex gnus-score-find-single
11980 Only apply the group's own score file.
11982 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
11983 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
11984 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
11985 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
11986 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
11987 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
11988 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
11989 then a regexp match is done.
11991 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
11992 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
11994 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
11995 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
11996 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
11997 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
11999 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12000 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12001 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12002 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12003 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12006 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12007 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12008 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12009 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12010 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12011 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12014 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12015 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12016 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12017 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12018 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12020 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12021 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12022 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12023 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12024 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12025 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12026 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12029 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12030 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12031 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12036 @node Score File Format
12037 @section Score File Format
12038 @cindex score file format
12040 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12041 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12042 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12044 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12048 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12050 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12052 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12054 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12059 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12063 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12064 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12065 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12066 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12070 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12071 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12073 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12074 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12075 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12077 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12082 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12083 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12084 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12085 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12086 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12087 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12088 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12089 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12090 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12091 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12092 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12093 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12094 to articles that matches these score entries.
12096 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12097 score entry has one to four elements.
12101 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12102 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12106 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12107 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12108 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12109 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12110 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12111 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12114 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12115 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12116 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12117 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12118 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12121 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12122 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12123 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12124 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12127 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12128 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12129 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12130 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12131 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12132 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12133 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12134 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12135 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12136 instead, if you feel like.
12139 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12140 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
12141 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
12142 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
12143 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
12144 the articles with few lines.
12147 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12148 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12149 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12150 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12151 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12152 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12153 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12157 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12158 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12159 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12160 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12161 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12162 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12163 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12164 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12167 @item Head, Body, All
12168 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12172 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12173 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12174 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12175 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12176 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12177 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12178 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12182 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12183 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12184 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12185 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12186 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12187 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12188 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12189 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12190 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12191 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12195 @cindex Score File Atoms
12197 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12198 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12201 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12202 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12204 @item mark-and-expunge
12205 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12206 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12209 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12210 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12211 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12212 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12213 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12216 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12217 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12220 @item exclude-files
12221 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12222 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12226 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12227 ignored when handling global score files.
12230 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12231 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
12234 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12235 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12236 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12237 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12239 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12243 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12246 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12247 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12248 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12249 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12250 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12252 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12253 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12254 ordinary scoring rules.
12257 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12258 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12259 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12260 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12261 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12262 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12263 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12264 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12265 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12266 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12267 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12271 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12272 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12273 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12274 file for a number of groups.
12277 @cindex local variables
12278 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12279 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12280 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12281 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12282 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12286 @node Score File Editing
12287 @section Score File Editing
12289 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12290 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12291 with a mode for that.
12293 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12294 additional commands:
12299 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12300 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12301 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12302 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12305 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12306 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12307 Insert the current date in numerical format
12308 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12309 you were wondering.
12312 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12313 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12314 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12315 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12316 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12321 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12323 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12324 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12326 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12327 e} to begin editing score files.
12330 @node Adaptive Scoring
12331 @section Adaptive Scoring
12332 @cindex adaptive scoring
12334 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12335 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12336 stupidity, to be precise.
12338 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12339 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12340 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12341 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12342 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12343 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12344 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12345 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12346 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12348 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12349 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12350 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12351 might look something like this:
12354 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12355 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12356 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12357 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12358 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12359 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12360 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12361 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12362 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12363 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12364 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12365 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12368 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12369 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12370 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12371 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12372 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12373 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12376 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12377 will be applied to each article.
12379 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12380 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12381 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12382 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12384 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12385 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12386 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12387 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12389 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12390 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12391 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12392 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12394 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12395 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12396 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12397 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12398 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12399 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12401 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12402 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12403 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12404 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12405 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12406 aspirins afterwards.)
12408 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12409 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12410 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12412 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12413 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12414 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12416 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12417 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12418 let you use different rules in different groups.
12420 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12421 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12422 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12425 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12426 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12427 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12428 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12429 the length of the match is less than
12430 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12431 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12434 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12435 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12436 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12437 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12438 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12441 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12442 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12443 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12444 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12445 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12448 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12449 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12450 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12451 score with 30 points.
12453 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12454 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12455 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12456 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12457 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12459 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12460 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12461 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12462 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12464 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12465 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12466 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12467 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12469 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12470 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12471 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12473 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12474 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12475 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12476 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12479 @node Home Score File
12480 @section Home Score File
12482 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12483 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12484 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12485 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12487 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12488 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12489 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12491 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12492 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12497 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12501 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12502 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12506 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12510 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12511 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12514 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12515 the home score file.
12518 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12521 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12526 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12529 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12530 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12533 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12534 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12537 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12538 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12541 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12543 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12544 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12545 their own home score files:
12548 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12549 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12550 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12551 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12552 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
12555 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12556 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12557 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12558 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12559 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12561 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12562 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12563 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12564 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12565 precedence over this variable.
12568 @node Followups To Yourself
12569 @section Followups To Yourself
12571 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12572 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12573 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12574 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12575 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12576 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12580 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12581 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12582 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12585 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12586 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12587 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12591 @vindex message-sent-hook
12592 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12593 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12595 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12596 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12600 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12601 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12604 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12605 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12610 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12614 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12615 is system-dependent.
12619 @section Scoring Tips
12620 @cindex scoring tips
12626 @cindex scoring crossposts
12627 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12628 the @code{Xref} header.
12630 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12633 @item Multiple crossposts
12634 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12635 more than, say, 3 groups:
12637 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12640 @item Matching on the body
12641 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12642 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12643 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12644 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12645 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12646 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12647 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12650 @item Marking as read
12651 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12652 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12653 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12657 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12659 @item Negated character classes
12660 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12661 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12662 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12666 @node Reverse Scoring
12667 @section Reverse Scoring
12668 @cindex reverse scoring
12670 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12671 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12672 like this in your score file:
12676 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12681 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12682 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12685 @node Global Score Files
12686 @section Global Score Files
12687 @cindex global score files
12689 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12690 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12691 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12693 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12694 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12695 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12697 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12698 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12699 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12700 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12701 files are applicable to which group.
12703 Say you want to use the score file
12704 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12705 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12708 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12709 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12710 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12713 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12714 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12715 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12716 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12717 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12719 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12720 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12722 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12723 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12724 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12725 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12726 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12727 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12729 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12735 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12737 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12739 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12741 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12742 lowered out of existence.
12744 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12745 articles completely.
12748 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12749 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12750 old articles for a long time.
12753 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12754 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12755 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12756 holding our breath yet?
12760 @section Kill Files
12763 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12764 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12765 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12767 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12768 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12769 files into score files.
12771 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12772 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12773 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12774 that isn't a very good idea.
12776 Normal kill files look like this:
12779 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12780 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12784 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12785 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12787 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12788 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
12791 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
12796 @kindex M-k (Summary)
12797 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
12798 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
12801 @kindex M-K (Summary)
12802 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
12803 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
12806 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
12811 @kindex M-k (Group)
12812 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
12813 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
12816 @kindex M-K (Group)
12817 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
12818 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
12821 Kill file variables:
12824 @item gnus-kill-file-name
12825 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
12826 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
12827 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
12828 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
12829 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
12830 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
12832 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12833 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12834 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
12835 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
12838 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
12839 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
12840 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
12841 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
12842 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
12843 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
12844 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
12845 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
12846 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
12848 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12849 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12850 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
12855 @node Converting Kill Files
12856 @section Converting Kill Files
12858 @cindex converting kill files
12860 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
12861 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
12862 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
12865 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
12866 You can fetch it from
12867 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
12869 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
12870 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
12871 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
12879 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
12880 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
12881 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
12883 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
12884 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
12885 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
12886 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
12887 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
12888 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
12889 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
12890 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
12894 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
12895 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
12896 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
12897 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
12901 @node Using GroupLens
12902 @subsection Using GroupLens
12904 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
12906 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
12907 better bit in town at the moment.
12909 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
12913 @item gnus-use-grouplens
12914 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
12915 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
12916 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
12918 @item grouplens-pseudonym
12919 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
12920 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
12921 with the Better Bit Bureau.
12923 @item grouplens-newsgroups
12924 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
12925 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
12929 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
12930 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
12931 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
12932 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
12933 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
12934 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
12937 @node Rating Articles
12938 @subsection Rating Articles
12940 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
12941 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
12942 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
12943 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
12946 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
12951 @kindex r (GroupLens)
12952 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
12953 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
12956 @kindex k (GroupLens)
12957 @findex grouplens-score-thread
12958 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
12959 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
12960 threads in rec.humor.
12964 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
12965 the score of the article you're reading.
12970 @kindex n (GroupLens)
12971 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
12972 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
12975 @kindex , (GroupLens)
12976 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
12977 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
12981 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
12982 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
12985 @node Displaying Predictions
12986 @subsection Displaying Predictions
12988 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
12989 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
12990 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
12991 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
12992 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
12994 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
12995 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
12996 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
12997 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
12998 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
12999 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13000 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13001 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13002 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13003 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13004 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13005 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13006 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13008 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13009 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13010 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13011 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13013 The following are valid values for that variable.
13016 @item prediction-spot
13017 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13020 @item confidence-interval
13021 A numeric confidence interval.
13023 @item prediction-bar
13024 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13026 @item confidence-bar
13027 Numerical confidence.
13029 @item confidence-spot
13030 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13032 @item prediction-num
13033 Plain-old numeric value.
13035 @item confidence-plus-minus
13036 Prediction +/- confidence.
13041 @node GroupLens Variables
13042 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13046 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13047 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13048 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13049 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13052 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13053 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13056 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13057 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13059 @item grouplens-score-offset
13060 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13061 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13064 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13065 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13066 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13071 @node Advanced Scoring
13072 @section Advanced Scoring
13074 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13075 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13076 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13077 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13078 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13080 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13084 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13085 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13086 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13090 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13091 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13093 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13094 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13095 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13096 non-@code{nil} value.
13098 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13099 operator, and various match operators.
13106 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13107 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13108 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13113 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13114 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13115 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13120 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13121 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13125 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13126 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13127 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13128 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13129 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13130 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13131 the ancestry you want to go.
13133 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13134 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13135 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13136 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13137 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13140 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13141 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13143 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13144 when he's talking about Gnus:
13148 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13149 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13155 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13159 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13166 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13167 really don't want to read what he's written:
13171 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13172 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13176 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13177 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13178 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13185 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13186 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13187 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13188 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13192 The possibilities are endless.
13195 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13196 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13198 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13199 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13200 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13201 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13202 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13203 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13204 @samp{subject}) first.
13206 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13207 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13218 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13219 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13225 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13232 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13233 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13238 @section Score Decays
13239 @cindex score decays
13242 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13243 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13244 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13245 use them in any sensible way.
13247 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13248 @findex gnus-decay-score
13249 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13250 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13251 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13252 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13253 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13254 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13255 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13256 definition of that function:
13259 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13260 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13263 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13265 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13267 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13270 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13271 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13272 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13273 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13277 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13280 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13283 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13287 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13288 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13289 the new score, which should be an integer.
13291 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13292 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13299 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13300 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13301 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13302 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13303 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13304 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13305 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13306 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13307 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13308 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13309 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13310 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13311 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13312 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13313 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13314 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13315 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
13316 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13320 @node Process/Prefix
13321 @section Process/Prefix
13322 @cindex process/prefix convention
13324 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13325 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13327 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13328 command to be performed on.
13332 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13333 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13334 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13335 with the current one.
13337 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13338 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13339 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13341 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13342 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13345 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13346 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13348 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13351 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13352 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13353 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13354 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13356 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13357 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13358 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13359 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13360 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13361 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13362 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13363 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13367 @section Interactive
13368 @cindex interaction
13372 @item gnus-novice-user
13373 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13374 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13375 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13376 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13377 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13380 @item gnus-expert-user
13381 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13382 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
13383 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13384 matter how strange.
13386 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13387 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13388 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13389 is @code{t} by default.
13391 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13392 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13393 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13398 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13399 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13400 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13402 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13403 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four charaters forward, and
13404 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13405 rule of 900 to the current article.
13407 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13408 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13409 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13410 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13411 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13412 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13413 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13415 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13416 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13417 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13418 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13419 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13420 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13421 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13422 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13423 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13425 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13426 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13427 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13429 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13433 @node Formatting Variables
13434 @section Formatting Variables
13435 @cindex formatting variables
13437 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13438 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13439 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13440 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13443 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13444 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13445 lots of percentages everywhere.
13448 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13449 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13450 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13451 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13454 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13455 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13456 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13457 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13458 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13459 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13460 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13461 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13463 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13464 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13466 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13467 @findex gnus-update-format
13468 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13469 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13470 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13471 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13475 @node Formatting Basics
13476 @subsection Formatting Basics
13478 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13479 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13480 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13482 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13483 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13484 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13485 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13486 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13489 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13490 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13491 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13492 less than 4 characters wide.
13495 @node Advanced Formatting
13496 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13498 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13499 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13500 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13501 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13503 These are the valid modifiers:
13508 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13512 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13517 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13520 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13525 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13528 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13531 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13534 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13538 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13539 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13540 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13541 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13542 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13543 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13544 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13546 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13547 last operation, padding.
13549 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13550 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13551 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13552 @xref{Compilation}.
13555 @node User-Defined Specs
13556 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13558 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13559 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13560 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13561 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13562 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13563 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13564 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13565 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13566 should protect against that.
13568 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13569 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13570 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13571 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13575 @node Formatting Fonts
13576 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13578 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13579 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13580 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13581 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13584 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13585 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13586 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13587 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13588 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13589 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13591 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13594 ;; Create three face types.
13595 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13596 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13598 ;; We want the article count to be in
13599 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13600 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13601 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13603 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13604 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13606 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13607 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13608 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13611 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13612 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13614 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13615 mode-line variables.
13618 @node Windows Configuration
13619 @section Windows Configuration
13620 @cindex windows configuration
13622 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13624 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13625 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13626 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13627 @code{t} by default.
13629 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13630 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13631 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13634 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13635 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13636 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13640 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13641 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13642 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13643 possible names is listed below.
13645 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13646 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13649 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13653 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13654 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13655 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13656 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13657 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13658 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13659 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13660 size spec per split.
13662 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13665 Here's a more complicated example:
13668 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13669 (summary 0.25 point)
13670 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13674 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13675 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13676 occupy, not a percentage.
13678 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13679 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13680 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13681 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13682 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13685 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13688 (article (horizontal 1.0
13693 (summary 0.25 point)
13698 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13699 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13701 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13702 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13703 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13704 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13705 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13707 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13708 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13709 lines from the splits.
13711 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13715 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13716 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13717 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13718 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13719 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
13720 size = number | frame-params
13721 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13724 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13725 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13726 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13727 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13729 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13730 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13731 @cindex window height
13732 @cindex window width
13733 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13734 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13735 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13736 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13737 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13738 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13740 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13741 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13742 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13743 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13745 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13746 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13747 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13748 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13749 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13750 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13751 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13752 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13753 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13754 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13755 configuration list.
13758 (gnus-configure-frame
13762 (article 0.3 point))
13770 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13771 @code{frame} split:
13774 (gnus-configure-frame
13777 (summary 0.25 point)
13779 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13780 (user-position . t)
13781 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13786 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13787 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
13788 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
13789 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
13790 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
13791 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
13792 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
13793 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
13796 Here's a list of all possible keys for
13797 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
13799 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
13800 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
13801 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
13802 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
13803 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
13804 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
13806 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
13807 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
13808 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
13812 (message (horizontal 1.0
13813 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
13815 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
13820 @findex gnus-add-configuration
13821 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
13822 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
13823 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
13824 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
13827 (gnus-add-configuration
13828 '(article (vertical 1.0
13830 (summary .25 point)
13834 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
13835 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
13836 Gnus has been loaded.
13838 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
13839 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
13840 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
13841 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
13842 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
13845 @node Faces and Fonts
13846 @section Faces and Fonts
13851 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
13852 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
13853 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
13858 @section Compilation
13859 @cindex compilation
13860 @cindex byte-compilation
13862 @findex gnus-compile
13864 Remember all those line format specification variables?
13865 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
13866 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
13867 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
13868 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
13869 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
13872 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
13873 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
13874 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
13875 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
13876 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
13877 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
13878 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
13882 @section Mode Lines
13885 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
13886 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
13887 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
13888 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
13889 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
13890 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
13891 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
13894 @cindex display-time
13896 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
13897 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
13898 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
13899 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
13900 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
13901 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
13902 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
13903 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
13906 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
13908 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
13909 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
13911 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
13912 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
13913 (length display-time-string)))))
13916 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
13917 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
13918 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
13919 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
13920 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
13923 @node Highlighting and Menus
13924 @section Highlighting and Menus
13926 @cindex highlighting
13929 @vindex gnus-visual
13930 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
13931 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
13932 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
13935 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
13936 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
13939 @item group-highlight
13940 Do highlights in the group buffer.
13941 @item summary-highlight
13942 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
13943 @item article-highlight
13944 Do highlights in the article buffer.
13946 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
13948 Create menus in the group buffer.
13950 Create menus in the summary buffers.
13952 Create menus in the article buffer.
13954 Create menus in the browse buffer.
13956 Create menus in the server buffer.
13958 Create menus in the score buffers.
13960 Create menus in all buffers.
13963 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
13964 buffers, you could say something like:
13967 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
13970 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
13973 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
13976 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
13977 in all Gnus buffers.
13979 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
13982 @item gnus-mouse-face
13983 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
13984 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
13985 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
13989 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
13993 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
13994 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
13995 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
13997 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
13998 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
13999 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14001 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14002 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14003 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14005 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14006 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14007 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14009 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14010 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14011 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14013 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14014 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14015 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14026 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14027 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14028 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14029 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14030 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14034 @vindex gnus-carpal
14035 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14036 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14037 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14042 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14043 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14044 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14046 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14047 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14048 Face used on buttons.
14050 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14051 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14052 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14054 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14055 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14056 Buttons in the group buffer.
14058 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14059 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14060 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14062 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14063 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14064 Buttons in the server buffer.
14066 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14067 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14068 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14071 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14072 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14073 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14081 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14082 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14083 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14084 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14085 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14087 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14088 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14089 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14091 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14092 been idle for thirty minutes:
14095 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14098 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14102 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14105 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14106 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14107 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14109 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14110 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14111 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14112 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14114 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14115 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14116 @var{idle} minutes.
14118 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14119 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14122 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14123 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14124 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14126 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14127 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14128 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14129 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14131 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14132 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14133 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14135 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14136 your @file{.gnus} file:
14138 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14140 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14143 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14144 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14145 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14146 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14147 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14148 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14149 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14150 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14151 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14152 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14153 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14155 @findex gnus-demon-init
14156 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14157 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14158 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14159 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14160 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14162 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
14163 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14164 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14173 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14174 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14176 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14177 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14178 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14179 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14182 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14183 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14184 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14185 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14187 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14188 this will make spam disappear.
14190 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14193 @item gnus-use-nocem
14194 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14195 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14198 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14199 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14200 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14201 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14202 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14204 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14205 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14206 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14207 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14208 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14209 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14210 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14212 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14215 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14216 @cindex Chris Lewis
14217 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14218 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14221 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14222 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14223 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14225 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14227 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14230 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14231 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14232 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14235 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14236 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14237 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14238 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14239 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14240 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14241 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14242 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14243 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14244 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14246 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14247 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14250 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14253 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14254 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14257 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14260 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14263 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14264 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14266 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14267 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14268 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14269 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14271 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14272 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14275 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14277 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14285 This might be dangerous, though.
14287 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14288 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14289 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14290 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14292 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14293 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14294 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14295 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14296 might then see old spam.
14300 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14301 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14302 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14303 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14310 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14311 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14312 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14314 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14315 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14316 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14317 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14318 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14319 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14320 @code{undo} function.
14322 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14323 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14324 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14325 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14326 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14327 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14328 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14329 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14330 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14331 never be totally undoable.
14333 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14334 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14336 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14337 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14338 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14339 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14344 @section Moderation
14347 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14348 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14349 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14352 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14356 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14359 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14361 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14366 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14367 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14368 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14371 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14372 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14375 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14376 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14380 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14383 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14384 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14388 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14389 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14392 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14396 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14397 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14398 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14399 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14412 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14413 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14414 over your shoulder as you read news.
14417 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14418 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14419 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14420 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14421 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14426 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14428 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14437 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14438 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14439 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14440 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14441 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14442 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14443 @code{GIF} formats.
14446 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
14447 your Web browser at
14448 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
14450 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14451 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14452 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14455 @node Picon Requirements
14456 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14458 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14459 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14462 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
14464 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14465 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
14466 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14467 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14471 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14473 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14474 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14477 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14478 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14479 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
14480 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14485 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14493 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14494 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14495 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14496 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14497 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
14501 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14502 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14503 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14504 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14505 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14506 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14507 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14508 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14510 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14511 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14512 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14517 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14518 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14520 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
14521 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
14522 displayed at the right time.
14524 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14525 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14527 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14528 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14529 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14530 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14531 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14533 @item gnus-group-display-picons
14534 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14535 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
14536 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
14537 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
14538 is set to @code{article}.
14540 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14541 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14542 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14543 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14547 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14548 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14551 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14555 @node Picon Configuration
14556 @subsubsection Picon Configuration
14564 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14565 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14566 don't need to worry about.
14569 @item gnus-picons-database
14570 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14571 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14572 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14573 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14575 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
14576 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
14577 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
14580 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14581 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14582 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14583 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14585 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14586 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14587 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14588 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14589 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
14591 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14592 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14593 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14594 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14595 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14596 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14598 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14599 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14600 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14601 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14609 @item gnus-picons-buffer
14610 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
14611 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
14612 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
14617 @subsection Smileys
14622 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
14627 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14628 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14630 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14631 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14634 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14637 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14638 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14639 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14640 text and maps that to file names.
14642 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14643 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14644 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14645 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14646 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14647 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14649 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14650 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14652 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14653 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14654 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14656 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14657 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14661 @item smiley-data-directory
14662 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14663 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14665 @item smiley-flesh-color
14666 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14667 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14669 @item smiley-features-color
14670 @vindex smiley-features-color
14671 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14673 @item smiley-tongue-color
14674 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14675 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14677 @item smiley-circle-color
14678 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14679 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14681 @item smiley-mouse-face
14682 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14683 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14689 @subsection Toolbar
14699 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14700 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14701 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14702 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14703 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14705 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14706 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14707 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14709 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14710 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14711 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14713 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14714 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14715 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14721 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14724 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14725 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14726 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14727 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14728 unusual directory structure.
14730 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14731 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14732 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14733 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
14735 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14736 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14737 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
14738 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
14739 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
14740 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
14742 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14743 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14744 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
14758 @node Fuzzy Matching
14759 @section Fuzzy Matching
14760 @cindex fuzzy matching
14762 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
14763 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
14765 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
14766 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
14767 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
14769 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
14770 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
14771 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
14772 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
14773 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
14776 @node Thwarting Email Spam
14777 @section Thwarting Email Spam
14781 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
14783 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
14784 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
14785 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
14786 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
14787 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
14788 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
14789 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
14790 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
14793 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
14794 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
14795 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
14796 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
14797 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
14798 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
14802 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
14803 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
14805 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
14806 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
14807 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
14808 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
14809 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
14810 part of the mail address.)
14813 (setq message-default-news-headers
14814 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
14817 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14818 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
14823 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
14824 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
14825 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
14831 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
14832 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
14833 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
14834 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
14836 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
14837 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
14838 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
14839 twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
14840 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
14841 your fancy split rule in this way:
14846 (to "larsi" "misc")
14850 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
14851 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
14852 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
14853 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
14854 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
14856 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
14857 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
14858 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
14859 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
14860 cosmic balance somewhat.
14862 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
14863 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
14864 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
14865 to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
14868 @node Various Various
14869 @section Various Various
14875 @item gnus-home-directory
14876 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
14877 defaults to @file{~/}.
14879 @item gnus-directory
14880 @vindex gnus-directory
14881 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
14882 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
14883 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
14885 @item gnus-default-directory
14886 @vindex gnus-default-directory
14887 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
14888 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
14889 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
14890 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14891 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
14892 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
14895 @vindex gnus-verbose
14896 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
14897 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
14898 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
14899 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
14900 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
14902 @item gnus-verbose-backends
14903 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
14904 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
14905 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
14907 @item nnheader-max-head-length
14908 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
14909 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
14910 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
14911 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
14912 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
14913 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
14914 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
14915 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
14916 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
14918 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
14919 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
14920 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
14921 read when doing the operation described above.
14923 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14924 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14926 @cindex invalid characters in file names
14927 @cindex characters in file names
14928 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
14929 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
14930 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
14933 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14937 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
14938 Windows (phooey) systems.
14940 @item gnus-hidden-properties
14941 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
14942 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
14943 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
14944 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
14946 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
14947 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
14948 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
14949 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
14950 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
14952 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
14953 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
14954 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
14963 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
14964 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
14966 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
14968 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
14974 Not because of victories @*
14977 but for the common sunshine,@*
14979 the largess of the spring.
14983 but for the day's work done@*
14984 as well as I was able;@*
14985 not for a seat upon the dais@*
14986 but at the common table.@*
14991 @chapter Appendices
14994 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
14995 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
14996 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
14997 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
14998 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
14999 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15000 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15008 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15009 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15011 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15012 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15013 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15014 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15015 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15017 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15018 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15019 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15020 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15021 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15022 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15024 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15025 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15026 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15027 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15029 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15030 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15031 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15033 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15034 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15036 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15037 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
15039 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15040 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15041 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15042 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15043 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15047 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15048 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15049 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15050 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15051 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15052 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15053 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15060 What's the point of Gnus?
15062 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15063 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15064 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15065 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15066 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15067 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15068 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15069 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15070 keep track of millions of people who post?
15072 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15073 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15074 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15075 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15076 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15077 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15078 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15079 every one of you to explore and invent.
15081 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15082 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15085 @node Compatibility
15086 @subsection Compatibility
15088 @cindex compatibility
15089 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15090 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15091 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15096 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15100 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15103 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15106 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15107 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15108 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15109 important variables have their values copied into their global
15110 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15111 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15113 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15114 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15115 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15116 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15117 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15121 @cindex highlighting
15122 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15123 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15124 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15125 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15126 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15127 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15130 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15131 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15132 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15133 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15135 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15136 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15137 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15138 to stop doing it the old way.
15140 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15142 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15144 @cindex reporting bugs
15146 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15147 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15148 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15152 @subsection Conformity
15154 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15155 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15162 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15166 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15168 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15169 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15170 We do have some breaches to this one.
15175 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15176 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15179 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15180 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15181 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15182 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15183 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15188 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15189 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15194 @subsection Emacsen
15200 Gnus should work on :
15205 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15208 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15211 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15215 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15216 reliably, at least.
15218 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15219 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15220 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15225 @subsection Contributors
15226 @cindex contributors
15228 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15229 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15230 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15231 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15232 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15233 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15234 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15235 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15236 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15237 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15239 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15245 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15248 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15249 well as numerous other things).
15252 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15255 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15258 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15259 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15262 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15265 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15266 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15269 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15272 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15275 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15278 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15281 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15282 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15285 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15288 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15291 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15294 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15298 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15301 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15304 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15307 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
15311 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15312 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15314 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15323 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15327 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15345 Massimo Campostrini,
15350 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15355 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15357 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15361 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15366 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15368 Michelangelo Grigni,
15371 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15373 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15377 François Felix Ingrand,
15378 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15380 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15387 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15388 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15389 Thor Kristoffersen,
15391 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15405 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15406 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15412 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15417 John McClary Prevost,
15419 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15427 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15428 Randal L. Schwartz,
15454 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
15456 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15457 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15458 (550kB and counting).
15460 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15463 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15464 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15468 @subsection New Features
15469 @cindex new features
15472 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15473 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15474 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15477 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15478 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15479 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15483 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15485 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15490 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15491 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15494 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15495 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15498 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15501 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15502 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15503 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15506 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15507 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15508 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15509 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15512 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15513 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15516 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15517 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15518 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15521 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15522 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15525 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15526 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15527 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15530 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15531 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15532 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15535 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15536 the @file{.emacs} file.
15539 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15540 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15543 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15544 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15547 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15548 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15551 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15552 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15555 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15556 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15559 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15562 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15563 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15566 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15567 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15570 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15571 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15574 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15577 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15578 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15581 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15585 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15589 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15590 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15593 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15599 @node September Gnus
15600 @subsubsection September Gnus
15604 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
15608 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15613 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15614 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15618 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15619 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15623 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15627 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15628 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15631 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15635 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15638 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15641 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15644 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15648 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15649 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15652 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15656 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15660 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15664 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15668 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15671 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15672 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15675 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15679 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15680 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15683 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15686 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15687 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15688 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15691 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15695 The Gnus cache is much faster.
15698 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
15702 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
15703 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15706 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
15707 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
15710 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
15711 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15714 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
15715 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
15716 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
15719 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
15720 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
15723 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
15726 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15729 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15730 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
15734 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
15737 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
15740 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
15741 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
15744 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
15748 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
15751 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
15756 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
15759 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
15763 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15766 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
15770 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
15773 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
15776 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
15777 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15780 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
15781 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
15785 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
15786 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
15789 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
15793 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
15794 buffer to allow easier treatment.
15797 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
15800 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
15804 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
15808 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
15809 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
15812 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
15816 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
15817 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15820 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
15821 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15824 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
15828 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15831 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15832 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
15836 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
15839 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
15845 @subsubsection Red Gnus
15847 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
15851 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
15858 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
15861 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
15862 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15865 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
15866 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
15870 Article washing status can be displayed in the
15871 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
15874 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
15877 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
15878 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
15881 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
15885 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
15886 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
15890 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
15891 Server Internals}).
15894 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
15898 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
15901 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
15902 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
15905 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
15906 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
15907 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
15910 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
15911 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15914 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
15915 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
15918 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
15922 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
15923 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15926 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
15927 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15930 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
15934 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
15937 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
15941 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
15942 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15945 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
15946 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15949 A new command for reading collections of documents
15950 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
15951 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
15954 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
15958 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
15959 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
15962 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
15963 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
15964 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
15967 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
15968 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
15972 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
15976 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
15980 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
15985 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
15989 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
15993 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
15994 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
15997 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16000 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16006 @node Newest Features
16007 @subsection Newest Features
16010 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16013 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16015 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16016 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16019 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16024 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16027 Really do unbinhexing.
16030 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16031 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16034 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16037 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16040 facep is not declared.
16043 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16044 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16047 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16052 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16053 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16054 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16055 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16056 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16057 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16058 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16063 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16066 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16069 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16071 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16072 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16074 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16076 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16078 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16079 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16081 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16083 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16084 be marked as unread.
16086 Orphan score entries dont show on "V t" score trace
16088 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16090 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16091 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16093 expinged articles are counted when computing scores.
16095 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16097 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16098 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16100 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16101 articles aren't displayed.
16103 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16105 implement gnus-score-thread
16107 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16108 make the mail groups killed.
16110 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16112 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16113 and articles have to be removed.
16115 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16118 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16120 finding short score file names takes forever.
16122 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16124 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16126 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16128 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16130 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16132 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16134 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16135 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16139 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16141 really unbinhex binhex files.
16143 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16144 bar and the Gnus bar.
16147 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16148 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16149 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16150 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16151 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16152 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16157 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16161 postponed commands.
16163 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16165 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16168 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16169 headers of the oldest orhpan with a 0 article number?
16171 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16172 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16174 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16176 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16177 for backends that support that.
16179 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16181 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16182 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16184 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16185 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16187 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16189 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16191 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16193 server mode command: close/open all connections
16195 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16196 has been changed before using it.
16198 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16200 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16202 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16204 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16206 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16207 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16209 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16210 contaion groups that match a regexp.
16212 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16215 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16218 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16219 from subject lines.
16221 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16223 nntp-ping-before-connect
16225 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16227 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16228 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16230 message annotations.
16232 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16234 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16235 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16237 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16242 support qmail maildir spools
16244 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16246 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16248 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16250 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16251 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16253 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16255 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16257 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16258 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16260 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16261 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16263 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16265 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16267 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16268 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16270 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16272 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16274 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16275 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16278 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16280 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16282 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16283 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16285 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16288 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16289 should be marker as expirable.
16291 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16293 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16294 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16296 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16297 Also consult Date headers.
16299 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16301 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16303 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16304 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16306 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16307 into a See-Also header.
16309 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16311 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16313 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16314 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16316 generate font names dynamically.
16318 score file mode auto-alist.
16320 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16321 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16323 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16324 absolutely all headers there is.
16326 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16327 and pipe them to the process.
16329 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16330 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16331 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16333 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16334 the current mail group.
16336 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16338 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16339 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16341 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16342 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16344 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16346 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16347 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16349 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16350 groups it has been mailed to.
16352 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16354 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16356 Command in the group buffer to respoll process-marked groups.
16358 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16359 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16361 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16362 newlines) should be ignored.
16364 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16365 groups in subtopics as well.
16367 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16369 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16372 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16374 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16376 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16378 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16380 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16382 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16384 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16385 or the formatted article.
16387 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16389 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16390 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16392 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16394 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16396 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16398 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16399 even unread articles.
16401 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16403 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16405 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
16407 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
16409 cancelling articles in foreign groups.
16411 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
16414 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
16415 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
16417 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
16418 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
16420 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
16422 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
16424 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
16425 from a particular server? Hm.
16427 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
16428 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
16430 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
16432 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
16433 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
16435 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
16436 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
16438 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
16439 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
16440 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
16443 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
16444 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
16446 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
16448 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
16450 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
16452 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
16455 when following up mulitple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
16458 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
16459 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
16461 command to show and edit group scores
16463 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
16466 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
16468 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
16470 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
16471 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
16474 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
16475 that are of that length.
16477 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
16479 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
16481 asynchronous posting under nntp.
16483 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
16485 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
16487 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
16489 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
16490 a score lower than this number.
16492 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
16494 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
16496 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
16497 so that each copy can be edited separately.
16499 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
16501 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
16502 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
16504 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
16507 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
16508 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
16509 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
16510 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
16512 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
16515 command to remove all topic stuff.
16517 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
16518 and splitting the resulting digests.
16520 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
16522 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
16524 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
16525 matches an alist -- before saving.
16527 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
16529 variable to activate each group before entering them
16530 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
16532 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
16533 starting Gnus first if necessary.
16535 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
16536 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
16538 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
16540 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
16541 of several groups at once.
16543 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
16544 matches some regexp(s).
16546 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
16548 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
16550 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
16552 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
16554 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
16556 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
16558 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
16560 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
16561 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
16562 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
16563 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
16565 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
16566 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
16568 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
16570 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
16571 recently cited text.
16573 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
16575 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
16578 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
16579 server and just read the articles in the server
16581 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
16582 value of nnoo variables.
16584 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
16586 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
16587 listed in each group info.
16589 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
16592 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
16593 should only be applied to some groups.
16595 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
16596 mail-copies-to: never.
16598 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
16599 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
16601 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
16603 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
16606 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
16609 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where appliccable.
16611 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
16614 group user-defined meta-parameters.
16618 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
16620 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
16621 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
16622 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
16623 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
16624 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
16626 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
16627 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
16634 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
16635 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
16637 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
16638 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
16640 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
16641 "Return the date the group was last read."
16642 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
16647 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
16648 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
16649 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
16650 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
16654 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
16655 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
16657 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
16660 They could be used like this:
16664 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
16665 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
16666 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
16668 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
16670 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
16673 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
16676 One could also immagine the labels being used for highliting, or
16677 affect the summary line format.
16681 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
16683 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
16684 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
16686 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
16689 - For other directories, create a nneething summaru buffer.
16691 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
16693 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
16695 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
16697 - For other files, just find them normally.
16699 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
16700 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
16703 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
16704 tell him what you are doing.
16707 Currently, I get prompted:
16711 decend into sci.something ?
16715 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
16716 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only decending sci.something? If
16717 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
16718 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
16721 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
16722 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
16723 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
16724 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
16727 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
16728 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
16734 more than n blank lines
16736 more than m identical lines
16737 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
16739 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
16743 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
16744 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
16745 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
16746 "same" subject for threading purposes.
16749 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
16750 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
16751 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
16752 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
16755 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
16758 soup - bowl of soup
16759 score below - dim light bulb
16760 score over - bright light bulb
16763 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
16768 show-list-of-articles-in-group
16769 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
16770 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
16771 if (articles-selected)
16772 start-reading-selected-articles;
16773 junk-unread-articles;
16778 else if (key-pressed = '.')
16779 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
16780 select-thread-under-cursor;
16782 select-article-under-cursor;
16786 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
16787 if (more-pages-in-article)
16789 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
16796 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
16797 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
16798 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
16801 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
16802 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
16803 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
16804 the wildcard expression).
16807 It would be nice if it also handled
16809 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
16811 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
16816 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
16817 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
16818 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
16819 article versions) variable.
16821 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
16823 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
16824 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
16828 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
16831 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
16832 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
16833 (message-sent-hook).
16835 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
16838 * Enhancements to Gnus:
16842 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
16843 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
16846 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
16847 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
16848 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
16851 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
16852 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
16856 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
16859 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
16863 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
16864 the nnmail duplicate checking.
16867 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
16868 value of the signature file.
16871 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
16872 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
16875 (setq message-tab-alist
16876 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
16877 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
16879 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
16883 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
16886 a command to import a buffer into a group.
16889 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
16892 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
16893 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
16896 a command to process mark all unread articles.
16899 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
16900 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
16901 do more gathering by subject.
16904 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
16905 article numerical order.
16908 (gnus-thread-total-score
16909 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
16913 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
16916 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
16917 in the summary buffer.
16920 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
16921 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
16924 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
16925 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
16926 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
16927 and/or newsgroup name.
16930 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
16933 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
16936 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
16939 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
16940 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
16941 will automatically get the process mark.
16944 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
16945 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
16946 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
16949 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
16953 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
16954 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
16957 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
16958 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
16962 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
16963 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
16966 be able to post via DejaNews.
16969 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
16972 allow the user to specify the presedence of the secondary marks. Also
16973 allow them to be displayed separately.
16976 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
16977 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
16980 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
16981 articles that match a certain From header.
16984 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
16985 saving living summary buffers.
16988 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
16989 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
16992 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
16993 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
16996 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
16997 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17000 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17001 (goto-char (point-min))
17002 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17003 (replace-match "`" t t))
17004 (goto-char (point-min))
17005 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17006 (replace-match "'" t t))
17007 (goto-char (point-min))
17008 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17009 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17010 (goto-char (point-min))
17011 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17012 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17017 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17019 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17020 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17021 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17022 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17026 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17029 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17030 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17033 gnus-cacheable-groups
17037 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17038 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17039 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17041 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17042 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17044 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17045 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17050 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17051 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17054 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17055 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
17057 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17059 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17060 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17063 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17064 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17067 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17071 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17072 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17075 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17078 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17081 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17084 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17088 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17094 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17097 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17101 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17102 X characters in the body.
17105 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17108 when sending authinfo automatically, things hang.
17111 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17114 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17117 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17120 have nntp cache the authinfo passwords.
17123 command to display all dormant articles.
17126 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17129 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17130 to something someone else has said.
17133 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17134 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17137 When the nntp server hangs up while the user is composing the message,
17138 when sending the message and the nntp server asks for AUTH, Gnus hangs.
17141 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17142 the displayed version.
17145 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17149 Solve the halting problem.
17158 @section The Manual
17162 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17163 either @code{texi2dvi}
17165 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17166 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17168 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17170 The following conventions have been used:
17175 This is a @samp{string}
17178 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17181 This is a @file{file}
17184 This is a @code{symbol}
17188 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17192 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17195 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17198 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17201 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17202 ever get them confused.
17206 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17207 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17208 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17209 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17210 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17211 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17212 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17220 @section Terminology
17222 @cindex terminology
17227 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17228 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17229 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17230 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17231 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17235 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17236 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17237 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17238 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17242 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17246 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17251 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17252 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17253 is all done by the backends.
17257 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17258 default, way of getting news.
17262 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17263 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17268 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17269 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17273 A message that has been posted as news.
17276 @cindex mail message
17277 A message that has been mailed.
17281 A mail message or news article
17285 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17290 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17295 A line from the head of an article.
17299 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17300 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17304 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17305 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17306 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17307 normal @sc{head} format.
17311 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17312 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17313 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17314 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17315 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17316 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17318 @item killed groups
17319 @cindex killed groups
17320 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17321 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17323 @item zombie groups
17324 @cindex zombie groups
17325 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17328 @cindex active file
17329 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17330 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17331 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17334 @cindex bogus groups
17335 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17336 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17337 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17340 @cindex activating groups
17341 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17342 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17343 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17347 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17349 @item select method
17350 @cindex select method
17351 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
17354 @item virtual server
17355 @cindex virtual server
17356 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
17357 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
17358 whole is a virtual server.
17362 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
17363 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
17366 @item ephemeral groups
17367 @cindex ephemeral groups
17368 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
17369 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
17370 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
17373 @cindex solid groups
17374 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
17375 group buffer are solid groups.
17377 @item sparse articles
17378 @cindex sparse articles
17379 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
17380 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
17384 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
17385 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
17389 @cindex thread root
17390 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
17391 articles in the thread.
17395 An article that has responses.
17399 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
17403 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
17404 specified by RFC1153.
17410 @node Customization
17411 @section Customization
17412 @cindex general customization
17414 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
17415 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
17416 for some quite common situations.
17419 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
17420 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
17421 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
17422 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
17426 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
17427 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
17429 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
17430 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
17431 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
17435 @item gnus-read-active-file
17436 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
17437 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
17438 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17439 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
17440 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
17442 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
17443 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
17444 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
17445 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
17449 @node Slow Terminal Connection
17450 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
17452 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
17453 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
17454 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
17458 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
17459 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
17460 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
17461 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
17462 horizontal and vertical recentering.
17464 @item gnus-visible-headers
17465 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
17466 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
17467 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
17468 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
17470 @item gnus-article-display-hook
17471 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
17473 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
17474 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
17475 gnus-article-hide-citation))
17478 @item gnus-use-full-window
17479 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
17480 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
17481 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
17482 want to read them anyway.
17484 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
17485 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
17488 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
17489 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
17490 lines, which might save some time.
17494 @node Little Disk Space
17495 @subsection Little Disk Space
17498 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
17499 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
17503 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
17504 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
17505 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
17506 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17509 @item gnus-save-killed-list
17510 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
17511 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
17512 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
17513 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
17519 @subsection Slow Machine
17520 @cindex slow machine
17522 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
17523 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
17525 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17526 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
17528 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
17529 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
17530 summary buffer faster.
17532 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
17533 processing a bit faster.
17537 @node Troubleshooting
17538 @section Troubleshooting
17539 @cindex troubleshooting
17541 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
17549 Make sure your computer is switched on.
17552 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
17553 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
17557 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
17558 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
17559 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
17560 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
17563 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
17567 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
17568 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
17569 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
17570 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
17571 something like that.
17574 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
17577 @cindex reporting bugs
17579 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
17581 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
17582 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
17583 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
17584 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
17586 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
17587 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
17588 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
17589 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
17592 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
17593 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
17594 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
17595 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
17596 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
17597 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
17599 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
17600 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
17601 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
17604 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
17605 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
17607 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
17608 @cindex ding mailing list
17609 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
17610 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
17614 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
17615 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
17617 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
17618 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
17619 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
17620 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
17623 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
17624 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
17625 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
17626 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
17627 and general methods of operation.
17630 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
17631 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
17632 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
17633 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
17634 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
17635 * Group Info:: The group info format.
17636 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
17637 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
17638 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
17642 @node Gnus Utility Functions
17643 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
17644 @cindex Gnus utility functions
17645 @cindex utility functions
17647 @cindex internal variables
17649 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
17650 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
17651 Below is a list of the most common ones.
17655 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
17656 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
17657 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
17659 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
17660 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
17661 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
17663 @item gnus-group-real-name
17664 @findex gnus-group-real-name
17665 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
17668 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
17669 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
17670 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
17671 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
17673 @item gnus-get-info
17674 @findex gnus-get-info
17675 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
17677 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
17678 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
17679 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
17682 @item gnus-continuum-version
17683 @findex gnus-continuum-version
17684 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
17685 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
17688 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
17689 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
17690 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
17692 @item gnus-news-group-p
17693 @findex gnus-news-group-p
17694 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
17696 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
17697 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
17698 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
17700 @item gnus-server-to-method
17701 @findex gnus-server-to-method
17702 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
17704 @item gnus-server-equal
17705 @findex gnus-server-equal
17706 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
17708 @item gnus-group-native-p
17709 @findex gnus-group-native-p
17710 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
17712 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
17713 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
17714 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
17716 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
17717 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
17718 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
17720 @item group-group-find-parameter
17721 @findex group-group-find-parameter
17722 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
17723 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
17725 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
17726 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
17727 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
17729 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
17730 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
17731 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
17733 @item gnus-check-backend-function
17734 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
17735 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
17736 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
17739 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
17743 @item gnus-read-method
17744 @findex gnus-read-method
17745 Prompts the user for a select method.
17750 @node Backend Interface
17751 @subsection Backend Interface
17753 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
17754 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
17755 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
17756 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
17757 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
17758 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
17760 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
17761 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
17762 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
17763 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
17764 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
17765 been opened, the function should fail.
17767 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
17768 name. Take this example:
17772 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
17773 (nntp-port-number 4324))
17776 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
17777 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
17779 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
17780 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
17781 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
17783 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
17784 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
17785 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
17787 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
17788 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
17789 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
17790 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
17791 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
17792 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
17795 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
17796 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
17797 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
17798 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
17801 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
17804 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
17807 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
17808 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
17809 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
17810 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
17811 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
17812 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
17816 @node Required Backend Functions
17817 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
17821 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
17823 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
17824 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
17825 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
17826 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
17828 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
17829 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
17830 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
17831 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
17833 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
17834 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
17835 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
17836 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
17837 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
17838 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
17839 number, do maximum fetches.
17841 Here's an example HEAD:
17844 221 1056 Article retrieved.
17845 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
17846 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
17847 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
17848 Subject: Re: Something very droll
17849 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
17850 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
17852 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
17853 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
17854 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
17858 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
17859 these in the data buffer.
17861 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
17865 head = error / valid-head
17866 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
17867 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
17868 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
17869 header = <text> eol
17872 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
17873 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
17877 nov-buffer = *nov-line
17878 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
17879 field = <text except TAB>
17882 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
17886 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
17888 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
17889 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
17891 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
17892 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
17893 server. In fact, it should do so.
17895 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
17896 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
17899 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
17901 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
17902 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
17905 There should be no data returned.
17908 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
17910 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
17911 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
17912 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
17913 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
17915 There should be no data returned.
17918 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
17920 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
17921 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
17922 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
17923 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
17925 There should be no data returned.
17928 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
17930 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
17932 There should be no data returned.
17935 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
17937 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
17938 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
17939 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
17940 it would be nice if that were possible.
17942 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
17943 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
17944 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
17945 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
17946 into its article buffer.
17948 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
17949 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
17950 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
17951 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
17952 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
17953 on successful article retrieval.
17956 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
17958 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
17959 making @var{group} the current group.
17961 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
17964 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
17967 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
17970 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
17971 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
17972 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
17973 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
17974 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
17975 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
17976 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
17977 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
17980 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
17981 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
17982 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
17986 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
17988 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
17989 a no-op on most backends.
17991 There should be no data returned.
17994 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
17996 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
17999 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18002 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18003 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18006 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18007 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18010 active-file = *active-line
18011 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18013 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18016 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18017 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18018 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18021 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18023 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18024 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18025 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18026 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18027 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18028 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18030 There should be no result data from this function.
18035 @node Optional Backend Functions
18036 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18040 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18042 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18043 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18044 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18046 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18047 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18048 former is in the same format as the data from
18049 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18050 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18053 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18057 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18059 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18060 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18061 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18062 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18063 should return the (altered) group info.
18065 There should be no result data from this function.
18068 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18070 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18071 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18072 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18073 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18074 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18075 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18076 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18077 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18079 There should be no result data from this function.
18082 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18084 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18085 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18086 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18087 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18088 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18090 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18091 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18092 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18095 There should be no result data from this function.
18098 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18100 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18101 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18102 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18103 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18104 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18105 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18106 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18108 There should be no result data from this function.
18111 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18113 The result data from this function should be a description of
18117 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18119 description = <text>
18122 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18124 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18125 groups available on the server.
18128 description-buffer = *description-line
18132 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18134 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18135 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18136 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18139 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18141 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18143 There should be no return data.
18146 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18148 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18149 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18150 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18151 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18152 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18155 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18158 There should be no result data returned.
18161 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18164 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18165 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18167 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18168 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18169 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18170 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18171 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18172 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18174 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18175 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18178 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18179 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18181 There should be no data returned.
18184 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18186 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18187 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18188 this function in short order.
18190 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18191 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18193 There should be no data returned.
18196 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18198 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18199 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18201 There should be no data returned.
18204 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18206 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18207 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18208 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18210 There should be no data returned.
18213 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18215 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18216 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18218 There should be no data returned.
18223 @node Error Messaging
18224 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18226 @findex nnheader-report
18227 @findex nnheader-get-report
18228 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18229 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18230 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18231 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18232 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18233 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18236 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18238 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18241 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18242 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18243 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18244 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18246 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18247 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18248 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18251 @node Writing New Backends
18252 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18254 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18255 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18256 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18257 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18258 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18261 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18262 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18263 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18265 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18266 package called @code{nnoo}.
18268 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18269 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18275 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18276 parameters. For instance:
18279 (nnoo-declare nndir
18283 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18284 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18287 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18288 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18289 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18291 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18292 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18293 a function in those backends.
18296 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18297 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18298 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18301 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18302 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18303 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18305 @item nnoo-define-basics
18306 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18310 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18314 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18315 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18316 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18318 @item nnoo-map-functions
18319 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18320 functions from the parent backends.
18323 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18324 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18325 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18328 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18329 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18330 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18331 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18334 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18335 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18336 haven't already been defined.
18342 nnmh-request-newgroups)
18346 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
18347 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
18348 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
18353 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
18356 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
18357 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
18361 (require 'nnheader)
18365 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
18367 (nnoo-declare nndir
18370 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18371 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18372 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18374 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
18375 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
18378 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
18379 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
18380 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
18382 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
18383 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
18385 ;;; Interface functions.
18387 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18389 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
18390 (setq nndir-directory
18391 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
18393 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
18394 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
18395 (push `(nndir-current-group
18396 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18398 (push `(nndir-top-directory
18399 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18401 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
18403 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18404 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18405 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18406 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
18407 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
18411 nnmh-status-message
18413 nnmh-request-newgroups))
18419 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18420 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18422 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
18423 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
18424 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
18425 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
18427 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
18428 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
18433 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
18436 The abilities can be:
18440 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
18442 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
18444 This backend supports both mail and news.
18446 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
18449 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
18450 articles and groups.
18452 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
18453 true for almost all backends.
18454 @item prompt-address
18455 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
18456 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
18457 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
18461 @node Mail-like Backends
18462 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
18464 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
18465 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
18466 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
18467 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
18470 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
18471 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
18472 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
18475 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
18476 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
18479 This function takes four parameters.
18483 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
18486 @item exit-function
18487 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
18489 @item temp-directory
18490 Where the temporary files should be stored.
18493 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
18494 performed for one group only.
18497 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
18498 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
18499 find the article number assigned to this article.
18501 The function also uses the following variables:
18502 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
18503 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
18504 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
18505 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
18509 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
18510 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
18514 @node Score File Syntax
18515 @subsection Score File Syntax
18517 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
18518 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
18519 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
18521 Here's a typical score file:
18525 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
18532 BNF definition of a score file:
18535 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
18536 element = rule / atom
18537 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
18538 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
18539 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
18540 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
18542 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
18543 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
18544 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
18545 date-header = "date"
18546 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18547 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18548 score = "nil" / <integer>
18549 date = "nil" / <natural number>
18550 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
18551 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
18552 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
18553 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
18554 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18555 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18556 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
18557 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
18558 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
18559 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
18560 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
18561 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
18562 exclude-files / read-only / touched
18563 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
18564 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
18565 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
18566 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
18567 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
18568 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
18569 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
18570 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
18571 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
18572 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
18573 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
18574 eval = "eval" space <form>
18575 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
18578 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
18581 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
18582 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
18583 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
18584 one looong line, then that's ok.
18586 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
18587 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
18591 @subsection Headers
18593 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
18594 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
18595 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
18596 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
18598 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
18599 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
18600 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
18601 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
18602 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
18603 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
18604 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
18606 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
18607 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
18608 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
18609 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
18610 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
18612 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
18619 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
18620 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
18622 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
18623 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
18624 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
18625 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
18627 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
18631 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
18634 is transformed into
18637 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
18640 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
18641 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
18644 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
18647 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
18648 is slightly tricky:
18651 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
18657 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
18660 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
18666 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
18673 and is equal to the previous range.
18675 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
18676 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
18677 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
18681 range = simple-range / normal-range
18682 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
18683 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
18684 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
18685 number *[ " " contents ]
18688 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
18689 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
18690 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
18691 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
18692 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
18697 @subsection Group Info
18699 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
18700 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
18701 describes the group.
18703 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
18704 second is a more complex one:
18707 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
18709 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
18710 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
18712 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@gnus.org")))
18715 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
18716 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
18717 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
18718 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
18719 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
18720 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
18721 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
18722 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
18723 this section is about.
18725 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
18726 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
18727 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
18729 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
18732 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
18733 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
18734 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
18735 group = quote <string> quote
18736 ralevel = rank / level
18737 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
18738 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
18739 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
18741 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
18742 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
18743 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
18744 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
18747 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
18748 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
18751 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
18752 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
18755 @item gnus-info-group
18756 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
18757 @findex gnus-info-group
18758 @findex gnus-info-set-group
18759 Get/set the group name.
18761 @item gnus-info-rank
18762 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
18763 @findex gnus-info-rank
18764 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
18765 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
18767 @item gnus-info-level
18768 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
18769 @findex gnus-info-level
18770 @findex gnus-info-set-level
18771 Get/set the group level.
18773 @item gnus-info-score
18774 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
18775 @findex gnus-info-score
18776 @findex gnus-info-set-score
18777 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
18779 @item gnus-info-read
18780 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
18781 @findex gnus-info-read
18782 @findex gnus-info-set-read
18783 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
18785 @item gnus-info-marks
18786 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
18787 @findex gnus-info-marks
18788 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
18789 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
18791 @item gnus-info-method
18792 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
18793 @findex gnus-info-method
18794 @findex gnus-info-set-method
18795 Get/set the group select method.
18797 @item gnus-info-params
18798 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
18799 @findex gnus-info-params
18800 @findex gnus-info-set-params
18801 Get/set the group parameters.
18804 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
18805 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
18807 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
18808 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
18809 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
18810 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
18813 @node Extended Interactive
18814 @subsection Extended Interactive
18815 @cindex interactive
18816 @findex gnus-interactive
18818 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
18819 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
18820 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
18823 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
18824 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
18829 The best thing to do would have been to implement
18830 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
18831 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
18832 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
18833 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
18834 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
18835 @code{interactive}.
18837 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
18842 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
18843 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
18847 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
18848 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
18849 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
18852 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
18856 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
18860 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
18866 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
18867 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
18871 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
18872 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
18873 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
18875 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
18876 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
18877 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
18878 Gnus, that's very useful.
18880 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
18881 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
18882 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
18883 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
18884 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
18885 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
18886 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
18887 following function:
18890 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
18894 (,function ,@@args))
18898 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
18899 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
18900 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
18903 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
18904 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
18905 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
18907 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
18908 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
18909 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
18912 @node Various File Formats
18913 @subsection Various File Formats
18916 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
18917 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
18921 @node Active File Format
18922 @subsubsection Active File Format
18924 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
18925 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
18928 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
18931 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
18932 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
18933 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
18934 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
18935 no.general 1000 900 y
18938 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
18941 active = *group-line
18942 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
18943 group = <non-white-space string>
18945 high-number = <non-negative integer>
18946 low-number = <positive integer>
18947 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
18950 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
18951 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
18954 @node Newsgroups File Format
18955 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
18957 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
18958 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
18959 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
18962 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
18963 Here's the definition:
18967 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
18968 group = <non-white-space string>
18970 description = <string>
18975 @node Emacs for Heathens
18976 @section Emacs for Heathens
18978 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
18979 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
18980 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
18981 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
18982 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
18983 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
18984 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
18988 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
18989 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
18994 @subsection Keystrokes
18998 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19001 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19004 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19005 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19006 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19007 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19008 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19009 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19011 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19012 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19013 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19014 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19015 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19016 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19017 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19019 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19020 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19021 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19022 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19023 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19024 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19025 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19027 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19028 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19029 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19030 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19031 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19037 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19039 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19040 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19041 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19042 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19044 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19045 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19046 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19047 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19048 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19049 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19050 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19053 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19054 write the following:
19057 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19060 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19061 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19062 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19065 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19066 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19067 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19068 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19069 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19071 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19072 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19073 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19077 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19081 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19084 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19085 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19088 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19091 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19092 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19095 @include gnus-faq.texi