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4 @settitle Quassia Gnus 0.110 Manual
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255 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
262 \thispagestyle{empty}
264 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
266 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
267 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
268 are preserved on all copies.
270 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
271 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
272 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
273 permission notice identical to this one.
275 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
276 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
285 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
287 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
289 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
290 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
291 are preserved on all copies.
294 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
295 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
296 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
297 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
300 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
301 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
302 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
303 permission notice identical to this one.
305 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
306 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
312 @title Quassia Gnus 0.110 Manual
314 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
317 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
318 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
320 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
321 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
322 are preserved on all copies.
324 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
325 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
326 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
327 permission notice identical to this one.
329 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
330 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
339 @top The Gnus Newsreader
343 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
344 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
345 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
348 This manual corresponds to Quassia Gnus 0.110.
359 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
360 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
362 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
363 being accused of plagiarism:
365 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
366 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
367 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
368 even read news with it!
370 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
371 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
372 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
373 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
374 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
381 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
382 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
383 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
384 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
385 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
386 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
387 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
388 * Various:: General purpose settings.
389 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
390 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
391 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
392 * Key Index:: Key Index.
396 @chapter Starting Gnus
401 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
402 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
405 @findex gnus-other-frame
406 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
407 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
408 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
410 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
411 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
412 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
415 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
416 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
417 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
418 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
419 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
420 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
421 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
422 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
423 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
424 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
425 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
429 @node Finding the News
430 @section Finding the News
433 @vindex gnus-select-method
435 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
436 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
437 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
438 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
441 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
442 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
445 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
448 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
451 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
454 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
455 certainly be much faster.
457 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
459 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
460 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
461 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
462 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
463 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
464 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
466 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
467 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
468 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
469 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
471 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
472 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
473 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
474 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
475 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
476 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
478 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
480 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
481 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
482 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
483 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
484 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
485 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
487 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
489 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
490 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
491 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
492 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
493 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
494 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
497 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
498 would typically set this variable to
501 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
506 @section The First Time
507 @cindex first time usage
509 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
510 be subscribed by default.
512 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
513 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
514 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
515 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
518 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
519 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
520 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
522 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
523 help you with most common problems.
525 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
526 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
530 @node The Server is Down
531 @section The Server is Down
532 @cindex server errors
534 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
535 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
536 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
538 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
539 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
540 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
541 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
542 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
543 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
544 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
546 @findex gnus-no-server
547 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
549 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
550 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
551 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
552 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
553 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
554 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
559 @section Slave Gnusae
562 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
563 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
564 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
565 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
567 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
570 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
571 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
572 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
573 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
574 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
575 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
576 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
578 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
579 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
580 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
581 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
582 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
583 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
584 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
585 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
587 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
588 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
591 @node Fetching a Group
592 @section Fetching a Group
593 @cindex fetching a group
595 @findex gnus-fetch-group
596 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
597 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
598 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
599 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
600 It takes the group name as a parameter.
608 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
609 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
610 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
611 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
612 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
613 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
614 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
615 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
616 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
619 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
620 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
621 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
625 @node Checking New Groups
626 @subsection Checking New Groups
628 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
629 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
630 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
631 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
632 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
633 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
634 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
635 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
636 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
637 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
639 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
640 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
641 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
642 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
643 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
644 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
645 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
646 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
647 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
648 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
649 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
651 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
652 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
653 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
654 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
655 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
656 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
659 @node Subscription Methods
660 @subsection Subscription Methods
662 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
663 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
664 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
666 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
667 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
669 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
673 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
675 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
676 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
677 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
679 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
681 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
682 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the grop buffer.
684 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
685 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
686 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
688 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
689 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
690 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
691 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
692 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
693 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
694 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
695 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
696 up. Or something like that.
698 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
699 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
700 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
701 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
702 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
704 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
705 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
710 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
711 A closely related variable is
712 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
713 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
714 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
715 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
718 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
719 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
720 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
721 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
724 @node Filtering New Groups
725 @subsection Filtering New Groups
727 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
728 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
729 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
732 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
735 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
736 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
737 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
738 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
739 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
740 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
741 subscribing these groups.
742 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
743 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
745 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
746 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
747 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
748 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
749 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
750 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
751 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
752 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
754 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
755 Yet another variable that meddles here is
756 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
757 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
758 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
759 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
760 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
761 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
762 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
763 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
765 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
766 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
769 @node Changing Servers
770 @section Changing Servers
771 @cindex changing servers
773 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
774 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
775 very flaky and you want to use another.
777 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
778 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
782 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
783 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
784 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
785 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
788 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
789 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
790 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
791 functions more than absolutely necessary.
793 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
794 @findex gnus-change-server
795 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
796 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
797 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
798 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
799 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
801 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
802 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
803 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
804 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
805 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
807 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
808 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
809 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
810 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
811 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
812 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
816 @section Startup Files
817 @cindex startup files
822 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
823 information is traditionally stored in this file.
825 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
826 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
827 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
828 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
829 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
830 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
831 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
833 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
834 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
835 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
836 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
837 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
838 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
840 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
841 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
842 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
843 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
844 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
845 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
847 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
848 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
849 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
850 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
851 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
852 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
853 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
854 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
855 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
856 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
857 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
858 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
860 @vindex gnus-startup-file
861 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
862 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
863 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
865 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
866 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
867 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
868 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
869 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
870 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
871 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
872 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
873 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
874 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
877 (defun turn-off-backup ()
878 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
880 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
881 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
884 @vindex gnus-init-file
885 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
886 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
887 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
888 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
889 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
890 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
891 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
892 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
893 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
902 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
903 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
904 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
905 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
906 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
909 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
910 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
913 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
914 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
915 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
917 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
918 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
919 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
920 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
921 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
922 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
925 @node The Active File
926 @section The Active File
928 @cindex ignored groups
930 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
931 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
932 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
934 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
935 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
936 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
937 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
938 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
939 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
940 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
943 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
944 @c if you set it to anything else.
946 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
948 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
949 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
950 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
952 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
953 you actually subscribe to.
955 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
956 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
957 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
958 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
960 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
961 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
962 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
963 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
964 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
965 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
967 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
968 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
969 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
970 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
971 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
972 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
974 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
975 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
977 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
978 secondary select methods.
981 @node Startup Variables
982 @section Startup Variables
987 @vindex gnus-load-hook
988 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
989 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
990 times you start Gnus.
992 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
993 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
994 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
996 @item gnus-startup-hook
997 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
998 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1000 @item gnus-started-hook
1001 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1002 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1005 @item gnus-started-hook
1006 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1007 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1008 generating the group buffer.
1010 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1011 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1012 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1013 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1014 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1015 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1016 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1017 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1019 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1020 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1021 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1022 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1023 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1024 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1026 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1027 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1028 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1030 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1031 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1032 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1034 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1035 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1036 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1037 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1042 @node The Group Buffer
1043 @chapter The Group Buffer
1044 @cindex group buffer
1046 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1047 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1048 long as Gnus is active.
1052 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1053 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1054 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1055 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1056 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1057 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1058 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1059 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1065 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1066 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1067 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1068 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1069 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1070 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1071 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1072 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1073 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1074 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1075 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1076 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1077 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1078 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1079 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1080 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1081 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1085 @node Group Buffer Format
1086 @section Group Buffer Format
1089 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1090 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1091 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1095 @node Group Line Specification
1096 @subsection Group Line Specification
1097 @cindex group buffer format
1099 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1100 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1102 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1105 25: news.announce.newusers
1106 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1111 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1112 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1113 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1114 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1116 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1117 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1118 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1119 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1120 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1121 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1123 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1125 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1126 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1127 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1128 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1131 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1132 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1133 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1135 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1140 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1143 Whether the group is subscribed.
1146 Level of subscribedness.
1149 Number of unread articles.
1152 Number of dormant articles.
1155 Number of ticked articles.
1158 Number of read articles.
1161 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1162 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1165 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1168 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1177 Newsgroup description.
1180 @samp{m} if moderated.
1183 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1192 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1196 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1199 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1200 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1201 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1202 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1203 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1206 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1208 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1212 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1216 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1217 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1218 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1219 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1220 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1221 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1226 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1227 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1228 group, or a bogus native group.
1231 @node Group Modeline Specification
1232 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1233 @cindex group modeline
1235 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1236 The mode line can be changed by setting
1237 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1238 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1242 The native news server.
1244 The native select method.
1248 @node Group Highlighting
1249 @subsection Group Highlighting
1250 @cindex highlighting
1251 @cindex group highlighting
1253 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1254 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1255 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1256 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1257 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1259 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1263 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1265 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1266 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1267 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1269 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1271 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1273 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1276 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1283 The number of unread articles in the group.
1287 Whether the group is a mail group.
1289 The level of the group.
1291 The score of the group.
1293 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1295 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1296 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1298 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1299 topic being inserted.
1302 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1303 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1304 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1306 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1307 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1308 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1309 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1310 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1313 @node Group Maneuvering
1314 @section Group Maneuvering
1315 @cindex group movement
1317 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1318 expected, hopefully.
1324 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1325 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1326 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1332 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1333 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1334 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1338 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1339 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1343 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1344 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1348 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1349 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1350 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1354 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1355 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1356 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1359 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1365 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1366 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1367 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1372 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1373 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1374 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1378 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1379 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1380 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1383 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1384 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1385 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1386 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1390 @node Selecting a Group
1391 @section Selecting a Group
1392 @cindex group selection
1397 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1398 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1399 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1400 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1401 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1402 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1403 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1404 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1405 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1406 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1410 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1411 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1412 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1413 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1414 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1418 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1419 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1420 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1421 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1422 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1423 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1424 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1425 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1426 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1427 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1430 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1431 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1432 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1433 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1434 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1437 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1438 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1439 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1440 doing any processing of its contents
1441 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1442 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1443 manner will have no permanent effects.
1447 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1448 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1449 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1450 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1451 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1452 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1453 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1454 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1457 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1458 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1459 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1460 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1465 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1466 full summary buffer.
1469 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1472 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1476 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1477 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1478 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1482 @node Subscription Commands
1483 @section Subscription Commands
1484 @cindex subscription
1492 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1493 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1494 Toggle subscription to the current group
1495 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1501 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1502 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1503 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1504 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1510 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1511 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1512 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1518 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1519 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1522 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1523 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1524 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1525 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1526 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1532 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1533 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1537 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1538 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1541 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1542 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1543 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1544 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1545 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1546 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1547 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1548 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1549 @file{.newsrc} file.
1553 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1563 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1564 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1565 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1566 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1567 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1568 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1573 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1574 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1575 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1579 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1580 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1581 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1583 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1584 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1585 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1586 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1587 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1588 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1595 @section Group Levels
1599 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1600 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1601 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1602 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1603 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1605 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1611 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1612 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1613 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1614 prompted for a level.
1617 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1618 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1619 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1620 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1621 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1622 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1623 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1624 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1625 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1626 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1627 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1628 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1629 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1630 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1631 reasons of efficiency.
1633 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1634 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1636 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1637 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1638 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1640 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1641 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1642 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1643 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1644 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1645 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1646 relevant valid ranges.
1648 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1649 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1650 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1651 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1652 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1653 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1656 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1657 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1658 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1661 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1662 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1663 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1664 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1667 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1668 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1669 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1670 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1672 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1673 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1674 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1675 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1676 to 5. The default is 6.
1680 @section Group Score
1683 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1684 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1685 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1688 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1689 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1690 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1691 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1692 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1693 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1694 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1696 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1697 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1698 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1699 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1700 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1701 action after each summary exit, you can add
1702 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1703 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1704 slow things down somewhat.
1707 @node Marking Groups
1708 @section Marking Groups
1709 @cindex marking groups
1711 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1712 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1713 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1714 bidding on those groups.
1716 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1717 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1718 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1726 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1727 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1733 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1734 Remove the mark from the current group
1735 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1739 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1740 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1744 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1745 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1749 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1750 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1754 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1755 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1756 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1759 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1761 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1762 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1763 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1764 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1765 the command to be executed.
1768 @node Foreign Groups
1769 @section Foreign Groups
1770 @cindex foreign groups
1772 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1773 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1774 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1775 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1782 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1783 @cindex making groups
1784 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1785 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1786 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1790 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1791 @cindex renaming groups
1792 Rename the current group to something else
1793 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1794 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1800 @findex gnus-group-customize
1801 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1805 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1806 @cindex renaming groups
1807 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1808 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1812 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1813 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1814 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1818 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1819 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1820 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1824 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1826 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1827 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1832 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1833 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1837 @cindex (ding) archive
1838 @cindex archive group
1839 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1840 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1841 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1842 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1843 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1844 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1845 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1849 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1851 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1852 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1853 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1854 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1858 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1860 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1861 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1862 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1866 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1867 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1869 Make a group based on some file or other
1870 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1871 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1872 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1873 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1874 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1875 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1876 @xref{Document Groups}.
1880 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1885 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1886 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1887 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1888 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1889 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1890 @xref{Web Searches}.
1893 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1894 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1895 This function will delete the current group
1896 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1897 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1898 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1899 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1900 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1904 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1905 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1906 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1910 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1911 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1912 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1915 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1918 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1919 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1920 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1921 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1922 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1925 @node Group Parameters
1926 @section Group Parameters
1927 @cindex group parameters
1929 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1934 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1935 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1936 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1937 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1938 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1939 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1940 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1941 copies of your followups.
1943 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1944 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1945 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1946 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1947 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1948 list address instead.
1952 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1953 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1954 doing a @kbd{a} in that group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1955 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1956 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1958 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
1959 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
1960 sending the message.
1964 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
1965 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
1966 of whether it has any unread articles.
1968 @item broken-reply-to
1969 @cindex broken-reply-to
1970 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1971 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1972 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1973 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1974 broken behavior. So there!
1978 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1979 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1983 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
1984 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
1985 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
1989 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1990 @code{t}, newly composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1991 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1992 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1993 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence
1994 over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later). @xref{Archived
1999 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2000 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2001 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2004 @cindex total-expire
2005 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2006 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2007 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2008 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2013 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2014 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2015 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2016 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2017 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2018 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2021 @cindex score file group parameter
2022 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2023 @file{file} into the current adaptive score file for the group in
2024 question. All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2027 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2028 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2029 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2030 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2033 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2034 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2035 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2036 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2039 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2040 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2044 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2047 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2052 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2053 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2054 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2057 @item @var{(variable form)}
2058 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2059 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2060 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2061 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2062 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2063 @code{eval}ed there.
2065 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2066 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2067 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2068 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2069 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2073 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2075 @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2077 Here's an example group parameter list:
2080 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2085 @node Listing Groups
2086 @section Listing Groups
2087 @cindex group listing
2089 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2097 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2098 List all groups that have unread articles
2099 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2100 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2101 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2102 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2109 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2110 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2111 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2112 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2113 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2114 unsubscribed groups).
2118 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2119 List all unread groups on a specific level
2120 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2121 with no unread articles.
2125 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2126 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2127 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2128 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2133 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2134 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2138 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2139 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2140 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2144 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2145 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2149 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2150 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2151 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2152 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2153 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2154 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2155 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2156 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2160 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2161 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2162 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2166 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2167 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2168 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2172 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2173 @cindex visible group parameter
2174 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2175 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2176 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2177 get the same effect.
2179 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2180 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2181 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2182 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2183 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2186 @node Sorting Groups
2187 @section Sorting Groups
2188 @cindex sorting groups
2190 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2191 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2192 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2193 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2194 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2195 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2200 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2201 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2202 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2204 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2205 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2206 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2208 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2209 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2210 Sort by group level.
2212 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2213 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2214 Sort by group score.
2216 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2217 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2218 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2219 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2221 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2222 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2223 Sort by number of unread articles.
2225 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2226 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2227 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2232 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2233 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2237 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2238 some sorting criteria:
2242 @kindex G S a (Group)
2243 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2244 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2245 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2248 @kindex G S u (Group)
2249 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2250 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2251 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2254 @kindex G S l (Group)
2255 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2256 Sort the group buffer by group level
2257 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2260 @kindex G S v (Group)
2261 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2262 Sort the group buffer by group score
2263 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2266 @kindex G S r (Group)
2267 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2268 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2269 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2272 @kindex G S m (Group)
2273 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2274 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2275 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2279 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2281 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2285 @kindex G P a (Group)
2286 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2287 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2288 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2291 @kindex G P u (Group)
2292 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2293 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2294 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2297 @kindex G P l (Group)
2298 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2299 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2300 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2303 @kindex G P v (Group)
2304 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2305 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2306 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2309 @kindex G P r (Group)
2310 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2311 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2312 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2315 @kindex G P m (Group)
2316 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2317 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2318 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2324 @node Group Maintenance
2325 @section Group Maintenance
2326 @cindex bogus groups
2331 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2332 Find bogus groups and delete them
2333 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2337 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2338 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2339 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2343 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2344 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2345 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2346 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2349 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2350 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2351 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2352 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2357 @node Browse Foreign Server
2358 @section Browse Foreign Server
2359 @cindex foreign servers
2360 @cindex browsing servers
2365 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2366 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2367 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2368 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2371 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2372 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2373 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2374 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2376 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2381 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2382 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2386 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2387 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2390 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2391 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2392 Enter the current group and display the first article
2393 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2396 @kindex RET (Browse)
2397 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2398 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2402 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2403 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2404 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2410 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2411 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2415 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2416 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2417 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2422 @section Exiting Gnus
2423 @cindex exiting Gnus
2425 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2430 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2431 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2432 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2433 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2437 @findex gnus-group-exit
2438 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2439 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2443 @findex gnus-group-quit
2444 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2445 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2448 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2449 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2450 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2451 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2452 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2457 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2458 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2459 trying to customize meta-variables.
2464 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2465 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2466 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2472 @section Group Topics
2475 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2476 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2477 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2478 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2479 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2480 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2484 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2485 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2496 2: alt.religion.emacs
2499 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2501 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2502 13: comp.sources.unix
2505 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2507 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2508 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2509 is a toggling command.)
2511 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2512 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2513 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2514 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2517 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2518 the hook for the group mode:
2521 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2525 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2526 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2527 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2528 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2529 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2533 @node Topic Variables
2534 @subsection Topic Variables
2535 @cindex topic variables
2537 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2538 really neat, I think.
2540 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2541 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2542 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2555 Number of groups in the topic.
2557 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2559 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2562 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2563 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2564 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2567 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2568 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2570 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2571 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2572 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2575 @node Topic Commands
2576 @subsection Topic Commands
2577 @cindex topic commands
2579 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2580 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2581 definitions slightly.
2587 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2588 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2589 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2593 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2594 Move the current group to some other topic
2595 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2596 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2600 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2601 Copy the current group to some other topic
2602 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2603 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2607 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2608 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2609 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2610 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2614 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2615 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2616 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2620 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2621 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2622 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2626 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2627 Toggle hiding empty topics
2628 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2632 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2633 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2634 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2637 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2638 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2639 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2640 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2644 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2646 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2647 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2648 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2649 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2650 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2651 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2654 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2655 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2656 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2657 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2658 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2662 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2663 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2664 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2668 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2669 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2670 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2675 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2676 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2679 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2680 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2681 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2685 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2686 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2687 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2691 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2692 @cindex group parameters
2693 @cindex topic parameters
2695 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2696 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2702 @subsection Topic Sorting
2703 @cindex topic sorting
2705 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2711 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2712 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2713 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2714 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2717 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2718 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2719 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2720 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2723 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2724 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2725 Sort the current topic by group level
2726 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2729 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2730 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2731 Sort the current topic by group score
2732 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2735 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2736 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2737 Sort the current topic by group rank
2738 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2741 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2742 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2743 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2744 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2748 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2751 @node Topic Topology
2752 @subsection Topic Topology
2753 @cindex topic topology
2756 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2762 2: alt.religion.emacs
2765 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2767 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2768 13: comp.sources.unix
2771 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2772 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2773 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2778 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2779 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2783 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2784 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2785 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2786 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2787 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2788 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2790 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2791 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2792 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2795 @node Topic Parameters
2796 @subsection Topic Parameters
2797 @cindex topic parameters
2799 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2800 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2801 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2803 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2804 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2805 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2806 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2812 2: alt.religion.emacs
2816 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2818 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2819 13: comp.sources.unix
2823 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2824 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2825 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2826 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2827 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2828 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2830 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2831 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2832 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2833 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2834 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2836 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2837 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2838 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2839 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2840 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2841 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2842 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2843 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2846 @node Misc Group Stuff
2847 @section Misc Group Stuff
2850 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2851 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2852 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2853 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2860 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2861 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2862 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2866 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2867 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2868 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2872 @findex gnus-group-mail
2873 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2877 Variables for the group buffer:
2881 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2882 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2883 is called after the group buffer has been
2886 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2887 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2888 is called after the group buffer is
2889 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2892 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2893 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2894 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2895 whether they are empty or not.
2900 @node Scanning New Messages
2901 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2902 @cindex new messages
2903 @cindex scanning new news
2909 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2910 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2911 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2912 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2913 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2914 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2919 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2920 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2921 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2922 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2923 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2924 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2925 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2927 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2928 @cindex activating groups
2930 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2931 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2936 @findex gnus-group-restart
2937 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2938 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2939 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2943 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2944 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2946 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2947 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2951 @node Group Information
2952 @subsection Group Information
2953 @cindex group information
2954 @cindex information on groups
2961 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2962 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2965 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2966 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2967 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2968 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2969 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2970 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2971 for fetching the file.
2973 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2974 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2978 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
2980 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2981 @cindex describing groups
2982 @cindex group description
2983 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2984 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2985 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2989 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2990 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2991 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2998 @findex gnus-version
2999 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3003 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3004 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3007 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3010 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3011 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3015 @node Group Timestamp
3016 @subsection Group Timestamp
3018 @cindex group timestamps
3020 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3021 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3022 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3025 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3028 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3030 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3031 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3034 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3035 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3038 This will result in lines looking like:
3041 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3042 0: custom 19961002T012713
3045 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3046 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3050 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3051 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3056 @subsection File Commands
3057 @cindex file commands
3063 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3064 @vindex gnus-init-file
3065 @cindex reading init file
3066 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3067 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3071 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3072 @cindex saving .newsrc
3073 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3074 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3075 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3078 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3079 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3080 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3085 @node The Summary Buffer
3086 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3087 @cindex summary buffer
3089 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3090 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3092 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3093 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3095 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3098 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3099 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3100 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3101 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3102 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3103 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3104 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3105 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3106 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3107 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3108 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3109 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3110 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3111 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3112 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3113 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3114 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3115 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3116 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3117 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3118 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3119 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3120 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3121 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3122 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3123 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3124 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3128 @node Summary Buffer Format
3129 @section Summary Buffer Format
3130 @cindex summary buffer format
3134 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3135 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3136 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3142 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3143 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3144 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3147 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3148 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3149 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3150 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3151 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3152 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3153 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3154 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3155 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3156 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3157 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3159 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3160 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3161 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3162 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3165 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3166 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3168 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3169 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3170 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3171 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3172 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3174 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3176 The following format specification characters are understood:
3184 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3185 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3186 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3188 Full @code{From} header.
3190 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3192 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3193 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3194 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3195 may be more thorough.
3197 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3200 Number of lines in the article.
3202 Number of characters in the article.
3204 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3206 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3207 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3209 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3210 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3212 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3213 for adopted articles.
3215 One space for each thread level.
3217 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3223 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3225 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3226 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3227 default level. If the difference between
3228 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3229 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3237 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3239 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3245 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3246 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3248 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3249 article has any children.
3255 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3256 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3257 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3258 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3259 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3260 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3263 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3264 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3265 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3266 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3267 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3268 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3270 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3271 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3273 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3276 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3277 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3279 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3280 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3281 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3282 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3284 Here are the elements you can play with:
3290 Unprefixed group name.
3292 Current article number.
3296 Number of unread articles in this group.
3298 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3301 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3302 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3303 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3304 and no unselected ones.
3306 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3307 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3309 Subject of the current article.
3311 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3313 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3315 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3317 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3319 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3321 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3325 @node Summary Highlighting
3326 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3330 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3331 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3332 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3333 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3334 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3336 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3337 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3338 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3339 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3341 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3342 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3343 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3344 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3346 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3347 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3348 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3349 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3350 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3351 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3353 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3354 ((> score default) . bold))
3356 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3357 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3361 @node Summary Maneuvering
3362 @section Summary Maneuvering
3363 @cindex summary movement
3365 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3366 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3368 None of these commands select articles.
3373 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3374 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3375 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3376 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3377 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3381 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3382 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3383 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3384 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3385 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3390 @kindex G j (Summary)
3391 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3392 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3393 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3396 @kindex G g (Summary)
3397 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3398 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3399 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3402 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3403 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3404 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3405 to the group buffer.
3407 Variables related to summary movement:
3411 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3412 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3413 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3414 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3415 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3416 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3417 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3418 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3419 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3420 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3421 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3422 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3423 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3424 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3426 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3427 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3428 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3429 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3430 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3431 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3432 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3434 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3435 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3436 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3437 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3438 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3440 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3441 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3442 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3443 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3444 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3445 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3446 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3447 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3453 @node Choosing Articles
3454 @section Choosing Articles
3455 @cindex selecting articles
3458 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3459 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3463 @node Choosing Commands
3464 @subsection Choosing Commands
3466 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3467 and they all select and display an article.
3471 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3472 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3473 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3474 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3479 @kindex G n (Summary)
3480 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3481 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3482 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3487 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3488 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3489 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3494 @kindex G N (Summary)
3495 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3496 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3501 @kindex G P (Summary)
3502 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3503 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3506 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3507 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3508 Go to the next article with the same subject
3509 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3512 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3513 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3514 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3515 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3519 @kindex G f (Summary)
3521 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3522 Go to the first unread article
3523 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3527 @kindex G b (Summary)
3529 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3530 Go to the article with the highest score
3531 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3536 @kindex G l (Summary)
3537 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3538 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3541 @kindex G o (Summary)
3542 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3544 @cindex article history
3545 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3546 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3547 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3548 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3549 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3550 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3554 @node Choosing Variables
3555 @subsection Choosing Variables
3557 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3560 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3561 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3562 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3563 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3564 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3565 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3567 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3568 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3569 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3570 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3572 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3573 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3574 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3575 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3576 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3577 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3578 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3579 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3580 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3581 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3582 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3583 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3584 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3585 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3590 @node Paging the Article
3591 @section Scrolling the Article
3592 @cindex article scrolling
3597 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3598 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3599 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3600 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3601 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3604 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3605 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3606 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3609 @kindex RET (Summary)
3610 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3611 Scroll the current article one line forward
3612 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3616 @kindex A g (Summary)
3618 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3619 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3620 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3621 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3622 the way it came from the server.
3627 @kindex A < (Summary)
3628 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3629 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3630 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3635 @kindex A > (Summary)
3636 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3637 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3641 @kindex A s (Summary)
3643 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3644 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3645 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3650 @node Reply Followup and Post
3651 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3654 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3655 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3659 @node Summary Mail Commands
3660 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3662 @cindex composing mail
3664 Commands for composing a mail message:
3670 @kindex S r (Summary)
3672 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3673 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3674 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3675 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3676 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3681 @kindex S R (Summary)
3682 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3683 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3684 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3685 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3686 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3689 @kindex S w (Summary)
3690 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3691 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3692 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3693 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3694 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3697 @kindex S W (Summary)
3698 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3699 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3700 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3701 the process/prefix convention.
3704 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3705 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3707 Forward the current article to some other person
3708 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3709 headers of the forwarded article.
3714 @kindex S m (Summary)
3715 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3716 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3717 Send a mail to some other person
3718 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3721 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3722 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3723 @cindex bouncing mail
3724 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3725 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3726 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3727 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3728 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3729 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3730 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3731 very well fail, though.
3734 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3735 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3736 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3737 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3738 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3739 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3740 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3741 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3742 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3743 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3745 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3746 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3747 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3748 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3749 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3751 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3752 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3755 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3756 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3757 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3758 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3759 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3762 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3763 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3764 @cindex crossposting
3765 @cindex excessive crossposting
3766 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3767 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3769 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3770 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3771 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3772 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3773 command understands the process/prefix convention
3774 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3779 @node Summary Post Commands
3780 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3782 @cindex composing news
3784 Commands for posting a news article:
3790 @kindex S p (Summary)
3791 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3792 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3793 Post an article to the current group
3794 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3799 @kindex S f (Summary)
3800 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3801 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3802 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3806 @kindex S F (Summary)
3808 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3809 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3810 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3811 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3812 process/prefix convention.
3815 @kindex S n (Summary)
3816 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3817 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3818 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3821 @kindex S n (Summary)
3822 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3823 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3824 message through mail and include the original message
3825 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3826 the process/prefix convention.
3829 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3830 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3831 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3832 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3833 headers of the forwarded article.
3836 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3837 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3839 @cindex making digests
3840 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3841 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3842 process/prefix convention.
3845 @kindex S u (Summary)
3846 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3847 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3848 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3849 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3853 @node Canceling and Superseding
3854 @section Canceling Articles
3855 @cindex canceling articles
3856 @cindex superseding articles
3858 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3859 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3861 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3863 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3865 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3866 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3867 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3868 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3869 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3871 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3872 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3875 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3876 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3877 your original article.
3879 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3881 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3882 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3883 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3886 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3887 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3888 have posted almost the same article twice.
3890 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3891 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3892 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3893 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3894 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3895 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3896 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3897 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3898 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3899 canceled/superseded.
3901 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3904 @node Marking Articles
3905 @section Marking Articles
3906 @cindex article marking
3907 @cindex article ticking
3910 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3912 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3913 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3914 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3916 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3919 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3920 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3921 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3925 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3929 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3930 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3934 @node Unread Articles
3935 @subsection Unread Articles
3937 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3942 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3943 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3945 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3946 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3947 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3948 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3949 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3953 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3954 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3956 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3957 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
3958 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
3961 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3962 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3964 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3969 @subsection Read Articles
3970 @cindex expirable mark
3972 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3977 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3978 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3979 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3982 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3983 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3986 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3987 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3988 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3991 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3992 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3995 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3996 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3999 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4000 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4003 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4004 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4007 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4008 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4011 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4012 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4015 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4016 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4020 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4021 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4022 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4026 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4027 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4029 One more special mark, though:
4033 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4034 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4036 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4037 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4038 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4039 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4045 @subsection Other Marks
4046 @cindex process mark
4049 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4055 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4056 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4057 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4058 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4059 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4062 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4063 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4064 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4065 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4068 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4069 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4070 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4073 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4074 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4075 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4076 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4079 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4080 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4081 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4082 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4083 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4086 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4087 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4088 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4089 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4090 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4091 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4095 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4096 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4097 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4099 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4100 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4101 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4105 @subsection Setting Marks
4106 @cindex setting marks
4108 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4113 @kindex M c (Summary)
4114 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4115 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4116 @cindex mark as unread
4117 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4118 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4124 @kindex M t (Summary)
4125 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4126 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4127 @xref{Article Caching}
4132 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4133 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4134 Mark the current article as dormant
4135 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4139 @kindex M d (Summary)
4141 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4142 Mark the current article as read
4143 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4147 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4148 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4149 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4154 @kindex M k (Summary)
4155 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4156 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4157 and then select the next unread article
4158 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4162 @kindex M K (Summary)
4163 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4164 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4165 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4166 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4169 @kindex M C (Summary)
4170 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4171 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4172 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4175 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4176 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4177 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4178 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4181 @kindex M H (Summary)
4182 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4183 Catchup the current group to point
4184 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4187 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4188 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4189 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4190 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4193 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4194 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4195 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4196 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4200 @kindex M e (Summary)
4202 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4203 Mark the current article as expirable
4204 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4207 @kindex M b (Summary)
4208 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4209 Set a bookmark in the current article
4210 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4213 @kindex M B (Summary)
4214 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4215 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4216 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4219 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4220 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4221 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4222 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4225 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4226 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4227 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4228 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4231 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4232 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4233 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4234 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4235 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4238 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4239 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4240 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4241 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4242 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4243 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4244 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4245 The default is @code{t}.
4248 @node Setting Process Marks
4249 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4250 @cindex setting process marks
4257 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4258 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4259 Mark the current article with the process mark
4260 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4261 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4265 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4266 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4267 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4268 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4271 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4272 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4273 Remove the process mark from all articles
4274 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4277 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4278 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4279 Invert the list of process marked articles
4280 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4283 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4284 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4285 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4288 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4289 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4290 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4293 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4294 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4295 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4296 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4299 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4300 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4301 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4302 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4305 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4306 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4307 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4308 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4311 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4312 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4313 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4316 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4317 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4318 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4319 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4322 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4323 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4324 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4327 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4329 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4330 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4333 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4334 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4335 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4336 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4339 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4340 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4341 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4342 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4345 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4346 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4347 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4348 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4357 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4358 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4359 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4366 @kindex / / (Summary)
4367 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4368 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4369 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4372 @kindex / a (Summary)
4373 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4374 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4375 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4379 @kindex / u (Summary)
4381 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4382 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4383 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4384 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4385 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4388 @kindex / m (Summary)
4389 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4390 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4391 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4394 @kindex / t (Summary)
4395 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4396 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4397 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4398 articles younger than that number of days.
4401 @kindex / n (Summary)
4402 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4403 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4404 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4405 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4408 @kindex / w (Summary)
4409 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4410 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4411 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4415 @kindex / v (Summary)
4416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4417 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4418 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4422 @kindex M S (Summary)
4423 @kindex / E (Summary)
4424 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4425 Display all expunged articles
4426 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4429 @kindex / D (Summary)
4430 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4431 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4434 @kindex / d (Summary)
4435 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4436 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4439 @kindex / T (Summary)
4440 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4441 Include all the articles in the current thread.
4444 @kindex / c (Summary)
4445 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4446 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4447 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4450 @kindex / C (Summary)
4451 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4452 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4453 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4454 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4462 @cindex article threading
4464 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4465 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4466 hierarchical fashion.
4468 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4469 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4470 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4471 or simply missing. Weird news propagration excarcerbates the problem,
4472 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4473 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4474 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4476 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4480 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4483 A tree-like article structure.
4486 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4489 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4490 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4491 summary buffer. We then typicall have many sub-threads that really
4492 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4493 called loose threads.
4495 @item thread gathering
4496 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4498 @item sparse threads
4499 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4500 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4506 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4507 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4511 @node Customizing Threading
4512 @subsection Customizing Threading
4513 @cindex customizing threading
4516 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4517 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4518 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4519 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4524 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4527 @cindex loose threads
4530 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4531 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4532 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4533 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4534 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4535 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4537 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4538 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4539 There are four possible values:
4543 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4544 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4545 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4546 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4547 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4552 @cindex adopting articles
4557 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4558 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4559 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4560 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4563 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4564 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4565 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4566 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4567 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4568 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4569 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4572 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4573 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4574 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4578 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4579 display them after one another.
4582 Don't gather loose threads.
4585 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4586 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4587 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4588 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4589 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4590 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4591 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4592 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4593 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4594 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4595 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4597 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4598 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4599 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4602 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4603 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4604 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4605 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4606 simplification is used.
4608 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4609 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4610 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4611 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4613 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4615 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4621 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4622 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4623 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4624 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4629 (mapconcat 'identity
4630 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4632 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4635 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4638 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4639 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4640 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4641 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4642 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4643 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4645 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4648 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4649 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4650 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4652 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4653 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4656 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4657 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4658 Remove excessive whitespace.
4661 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4664 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4665 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4666 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4667 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4668 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4669 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4670 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4671 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4673 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4674 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4675 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4676 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4677 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4678 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4679 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4680 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4681 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4685 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4686 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4687 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4688 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4690 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4691 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4692 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4695 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4699 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4700 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4706 @node Filling In Threads
4707 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4710 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4711 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4712 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4713 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4714 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4715 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4716 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4717 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4718 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4719 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4720 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4721 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4723 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4724 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4725 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4727 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4728 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4729 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4730 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4731 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4732 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4733 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4734 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4735 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4736 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4737 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4738 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4739 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4740 @code{nil} by default.
4745 @node More Threading
4746 @subsubsection More Threading
4749 @item gnus-show-threads
4750 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4751 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4752 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4753 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4754 slower and more awkward.
4756 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4757 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4758 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4761 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4762 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4763 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4764 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4765 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4766 threads are expunged.
4768 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4769 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4770 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4773 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4774 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4775 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4776 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4777 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4780 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4781 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4782 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4788 @node Low-Level Threading
4789 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4793 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4794 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4795 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4796 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4797 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4798 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4800 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4801 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4802 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4803 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4804 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4805 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4806 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4807 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4808 meaningful. Here's one example:
4811 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4813 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4814 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4816 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4818 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4825 @node Thread Commands
4826 @subsection Thread Commands
4827 @cindex thread commands
4833 @kindex T k (Summary)
4834 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4835 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4836 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4837 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4838 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4843 @kindex T l (Summary)
4844 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4845 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4846 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4847 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4850 @kindex T i (Summary)
4851 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4852 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4853 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4856 @kindex T # (Summary)
4857 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4858 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4859 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4862 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4863 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4864 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4865 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4868 @kindex T T (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4870 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4873 @kindex T s (Summary)
4874 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4875 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4876 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4879 @kindex T h (Summary)
4880 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4881 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4884 @kindex T S (Summary)
4885 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4886 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4889 @kindex T H (Summary)
4890 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4891 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4894 @kindex T t (Summary)
4895 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4896 Re-thread the current article's thread
4897 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4898 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4901 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4903 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4904 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4908 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4909 understand the numeric prefix.
4914 @kindex T n (Summary)
4915 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4916 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4919 @kindex T p (Summary)
4920 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4921 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4924 @kindex T d (Summary)
4925 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4926 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4929 @kindex T u (Summary)
4930 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4931 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4934 @kindex T o (Summary)
4935 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4936 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4939 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4940 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4941 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4942 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4943 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4944 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4945 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
4946 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4947 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4948 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4949 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4950 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4957 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4958 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4959 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4960 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4961 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4962 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4963 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4964 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4965 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4966 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4967 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4968 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4969 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4970 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4972 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
4973 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4974 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4975 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4976 in the list. You should probably always include
4977 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4978 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4979 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4980 ascending article order.
4982 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4983 number, you could do something like:
4986 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4987 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4988 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4989 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
4992 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4993 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4994 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4995 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4996 which the articles arrived.
4998 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5002 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5004 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t2 t1)))
5005 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5008 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5009 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5010 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5011 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5014 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5015 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5016 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5017 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5018 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5019 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5020 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5021 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5022 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5023 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5024 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5025 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5026 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5028 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5032 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5033 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5034 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5039 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5040 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5041 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5042 @cindex article pre-fetch
5045 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5046 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5047 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5048 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5049 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5051 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5052 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5054 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5055 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5056 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5057 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5058 connection is blocked.
5060 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5061 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5062 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5063 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5065 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5066 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5067 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5068 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5071 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5074 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5075 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5076 happen automatically.
5078 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5079 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5080 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5081 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5082 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5083 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5084 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5086 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5087 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5088 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5089 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5090 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5091 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5092 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5093 data structure as the only parameter.
5095 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5098 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5099 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5100 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5101 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5104 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5107 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5108 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5109 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5111 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5112 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5113 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5114 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5118 Remove articles when they are read.
5121 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5124 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5126 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5127 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5128 from the next group.
5131 @node Article Caching
5132 @section Article Caching
5133 @cindex article caching
5136 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5137 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5138 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5139 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5140 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5142 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5144 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5145 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5146 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5147 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5148 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5149 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5150 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5151 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5153 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5154 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5155 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5156 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5157 as dormant, and don't worry.
5159 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5161 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5162 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5163 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5164 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5165 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5166 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5167 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5168 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5169 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5170 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5172 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5173 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5174 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5175 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5176 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5177 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5178 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5179 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5180 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5181 not then be downloaded by this command.
5183 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5184 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5185 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5186 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5187 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5188 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5189 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5192 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5193 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5194 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5195 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5196 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5197 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5198 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5199 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5200 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5204 @node Persistent Articles
5205 @section Persistent Articles
5206 @cindex persistent articles
5208 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5209 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5210 useful in my opinion.
5212 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5213 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5214 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5215 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5216 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5217 the expiry going on at the news server.
5219 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5220 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5221 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5227 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5228 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5231 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5232 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5233 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5234 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5238 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5240 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5241 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5242 interested in persistent articles:
5245 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5249 @node Article Backlog
5250 @section Article Backlog
5252 @cindex article backlog
5254 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5255 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5256 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5257 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5258 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5259 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5260 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5261 increase memory usage some.
5263 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5264 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5265 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5266 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5267 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5268 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5269 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5271 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5274 @node Saving Articles
5275 @section Saving Articles
5276 @cindex saving articles
5278 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5279 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5280 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5281 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5282 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5284 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5285 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5286 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5288 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5289 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5290 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5291 deleted before saving.
5297 @kindex O o (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5300 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5301 Save the current article using the default article saver
5302 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5305 @kindex O m (Summary)
5306 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5307 Save the current article in mail format
5308 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5311 @kindex O r (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5313 Save the current article in rmail format
5314 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5317 @kindex O f (Summary)
5318 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5319 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5320 Save the current article in plain file format
5321 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5324 @kindex O F (Summary)
5325 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5326 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5327 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5330 @kindex O b (Summary)
5331 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5332 Save the current article body in plain file format
5333 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5336 @kindex O h (Summary)
5337 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5338 Save the current article in mh folder format
5339 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5342 @kindex O v (Summary)
5343 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5344 Save the current article in a VM folder
5345 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5348 @kindex O p (Summary)
5349 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5350 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5351 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5354 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5355 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5356 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5357 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5358 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5359 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5360 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5361 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5362 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5363 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5364 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5365 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5369 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5370 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5371 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5372 functions below, or you can create your own.
5376 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5377 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5378 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5379 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5380 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5381 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5382 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5384 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5385 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5386 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5387 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5388 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5389 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5391 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5392 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5393 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5394 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5395 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5396 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5397 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5399 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5400 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5401 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5402 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5403 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5405 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5406 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5407 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5408 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5409 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5412 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5413 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5414 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5415 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5416 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5418 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5419 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5420 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5421 reader to use this setting.
5424 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5425 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5426 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5427 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5430 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5431 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5432 available functions that generate names:
5436 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5437 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5438 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5440 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5441 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5442 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5444 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5445 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5446 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5448 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5449 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5450 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5453 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5454 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5455 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5456 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5457 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5461 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5462 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5463 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5464 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5467 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5468 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5469 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5470 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5471 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5472 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5473 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5474 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5475 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5477 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5478 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5479 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5480 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5482 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5483 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5484 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5487 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5488 lots of mail groups called things like
5489 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5490 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5491 following will do just that:
5494 (defun my-save-name (group)
5495 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5496 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5498 (setq gnus-split-methods
5499 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5504 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5505 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5506 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5507 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5508 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5509 all the files in the toplevel directory
5510 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5511 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5512 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5513 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5515 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5516 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5517 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5518 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5519 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5522 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5526 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5527 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5530 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5531 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5532 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5533 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5536 @node Decoding Articles
5537 @section Decoding Articles
5538 @cindex decoding articles
5540 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5541 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5544 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5545 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5546 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5547 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5548 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5549 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5553 @cindex article series
5554 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5555 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5556 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5557 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5558 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5560 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5561 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5562 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5564 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5565 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5566 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5568 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5569 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5570 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5573 @node Uuencoded Articles
5574 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5576 @cindex uuencoded articles
5581 @kindex X u (Summary)
5582 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5583 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5584 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5587 @kindex X U (Summary)
5588 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5589 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5590 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5593 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5594 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5595 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5598 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5599 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5600 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5601 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5605 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5606 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5607 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5608 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5609 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5611 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5612 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5613 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5614 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5617 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5618 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5619 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5620 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5621 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5622 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5626 @node Shell Archives
5627 @subsection Shell Archives
5629 @cindex shell archives
5630 @cindex shared articles
5632 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5633 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5634 some commands to deal with these:
5639 @kindex X s (Summary)
5640 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5641 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5644 @kindex X S (Summary)
5645 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5646 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5649 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5650 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5651 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5654 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5655 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5656 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5657 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5661 @node PostScript Files
5662 @subsection PostScript Files
5668 @kindex X p (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5670 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5673 @kindex X P (Summary)
5674 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5675 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5676 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5679 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5681 View the current PostScript series
5682 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5685 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5686 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5687 View and save the current PostScript series
5688 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5693 @subsection Other Files
5697 @kindex X o (Summary)
5698 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5699 Save the current series
5700 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5703 @kindex X b (Summary)
5704 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5705 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5706 doesn't really work yet.
5710 @node Decoding Variables
5711 @subsection Decoding Variables
5713 Adjective, not verb.
5716 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5717 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5718 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5722 @node Rule Variables
5723 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5724 @cindex rule variables
5726 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5727 variables are of the form
5730 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5737 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5738 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5740 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5741 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5744 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5745 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5748 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5749 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5750 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5751 user and default view rules.
5753 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5754 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5755 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5760 @node Other Decode Variables
5761 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5764 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5766 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5767 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5768 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5769 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5770 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5774 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5775 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5778 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5779 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5780 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5783 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5784 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5785 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5786 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5787 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5790 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5791 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5792 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5794 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5795 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5796 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5797 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5798 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5801 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5802 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5803 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5805 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5806 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5807 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5808 looking for files to display.
5810 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5811 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5812 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5815 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5816 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5817 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5820 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5821 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5822 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5825 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5826 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5827 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5830 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5831 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5832 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5833 decoded articles as unread.
5835 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5836 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5837 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5838 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5840 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5841 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5843 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5844 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5845 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5846 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5848 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5849 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5850 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5851 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5852 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5853 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5854 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5855 simply dropped them.
5860 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5861 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5865 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5866 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5867 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5868 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5869 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5870 for you when you post the article.
5872 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5873 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5874 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5875 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5877 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5878 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5879 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5880 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5881 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5882 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5883 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5885 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5886 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5887 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5888 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5889 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5890 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5891 Default is @code{t}.
5897 @subsection Viewing Files
5898 @cindex viewing files
5899 @cindex pseudo-articles
5901 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5902 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5903 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5904 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5905 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5906 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5907 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5909 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5910 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5911 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5912 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5914 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5915 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5916 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5918 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5919 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5920 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5921 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5922 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5924 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5925 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5926 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5927 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5928 a list of parameters to that command.
5930 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5931 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5932 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5934 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5935 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5936 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5939 @node Article Treatment
5940 @section Article Treatment
5942 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5943 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
5944 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5945 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5946 these articles easier.
5949 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5950 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5951 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5952 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5953 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5954 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5955 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5959 @node Article Highlighting
5960 @subsection Article Highlighting
5963 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5964 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5969 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5970 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5971 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5974 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5976 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5977 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5978 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5979 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5980 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5981 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5982 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5983 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5984 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5987 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5988 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5989 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5991 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5994 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5996 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5997 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5998 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6000 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6001 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6002 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6004 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6005 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6006 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6008 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6009 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6010 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
6011 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
6012 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
6015 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6016 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6017 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6019 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6020 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6021 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6023 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6024 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6025 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6026 that it's a citation.
6028 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6029 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6030 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6032 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6033 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6034 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6036 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6037 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6038 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6039 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6045 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6046 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6047 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6048 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6049 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6050 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6051 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6052 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6058 @node Article Fontisizing
6059 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6061 @cindex article emphasis
6063 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6064 @kindex W e (Summary)
6065 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6066 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6067 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6068 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6070 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6071 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6072 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6073 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6074 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6075 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6076 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6077 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6081 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6082 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6083 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6086 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6087 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6088 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6089 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6090 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6091 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6092 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6093 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6094 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6095 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6096 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6097 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6098 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6100 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6101 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6102 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6106 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6110 @node Article Hiding
6111 @subsection Article Hiding
6112 @cindex article hiding
6114 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6115 too much cruft in most articles.
6120 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-article-hide
6122 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6125 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6126 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6127 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6131 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6133 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6134 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6137 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6138 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6139 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6143 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6144 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6145 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6146 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6147 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6148 signature has been hidden.
6151 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6153 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6154 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6157 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6158 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6159 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6160 customizing the hiding:
6164 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6165 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6166 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6167 50), hide the cited text.
6169 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6170 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6171 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6174 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6175 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6176 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6177 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6178 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6183 Start point of the hidden text.
6185 End point of the hidden text.
6187 Length of the hidden text.
6190 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6191 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6192 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6197 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6198 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6199 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6200 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6201 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6202 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6206 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6207 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6208 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6210 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6211 citation customization.
6214 @node Article Washing
6215 @subsection Article Washing
6217 @cindex article washing
6219 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6220 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6222 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6223 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6229 @kindex W l (Summary)
6230 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6231 Remove page breaks from the current article
6232 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6235 @kindex W r (Summary)
6236 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6237 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6238 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6239 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6240 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6241 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6243 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6244 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6245 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6246 is rumoured to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6249 @kindex W t (Summary)
6250 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6251 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6252 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6255 @kindex W v (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6257 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6261 @kindex W m (Summary)
6262 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6263 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6264 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6267 @kindex W o (Summary)
6268 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6269 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6272 @kindex W w (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6274 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6275 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6276 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6278 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6282 @kindex W c (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6284 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6285 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6288 @kindex W q (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6290 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6291 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6292 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6293 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6297 @kindex W f (Summary)
6299 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6300 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6301 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6302 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6305 \gnusxface{tmp/xface-karlheg.ps}
6306 \gnusxface{tmp/xface-kyle.ps}
6307 \gnusxface{tmp/xface-smb.ps}
6310 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6311 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6312 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6313 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6314 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6315 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6316 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6317 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6318 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6319 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6320 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6321 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6322 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6323 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6327 @kindex W b (Summary)
6328 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6329 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6330 @xref{Article Buttons}
6333 @kindex W B (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6335 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6336 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6339 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6341 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6342 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6345 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6346 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6347 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6348 lines with a single empty line.
6349 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6352 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6353 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6354 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6355 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6358 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6360 Do all the three commands above
6361 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6364 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6365 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6366 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6367 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6372 @node Article Buttons
6373 @subsection Article Buttons
6376 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6377 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6378 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6379 button on these references.
6381 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6382 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6383 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6388 @item gnus-button-alist
6389 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6390 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6393 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6399 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6400 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6401 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6404 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6405 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6406 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6409 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6410 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6411 avoid false matches.
6414 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6417 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6418 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6422 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6425 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6428 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6429 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6430 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6431 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6432 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6435 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6438 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6440 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6441 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6442 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6443 default values of the variables above.
6445 @item gnus-article-button-face
6446 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6447 Face used on buttons.
6449 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6450 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6451 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6457 @subsection Article Date
6459 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6460 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6461 when the article was sent.
6466 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6467 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6468 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6469 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6472 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6473 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6474 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6477 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6478 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6479 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6480 @findex format-time-string
6481 Display the date using a user-defined format
6482 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6483 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6484 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6485 for a list of possible format specs.
6488 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6490 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6491 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
6494 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6496 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6497 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6498 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6499 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6500 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6505 @node Article Signature
6506 @subsection Article Signature
6508 @cindex article signature
6510 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6511 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6512 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6513 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6514 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6515 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6516 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6517 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6518 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6521 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6522 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6523 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6524 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6525 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6526 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6527 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6528 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6531 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6534 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6535 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6540 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6543 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6546 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6547 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6549 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6550 in question is not a signature.
6553 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6554 listed above. Here's an example:
6557 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6558 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6561 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6562 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6563 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6564 signature after all.
6567 @node Article Commands
6568 @section Article Commands
6575 @kindex A P (Summary)
6576 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6577 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6578 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6579 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6580 run just before printing the buffer.
6585 @node Summary Sorting
6586 @section Summary Sorting
6587 @cindex summary sorting
6589 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6590 can't really see why you'd want that.
6595 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6597 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6600 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6601 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6602 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6605 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6607 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6610 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6611 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6612 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6615 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6617 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6620 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6621 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6622 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6625 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6626 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6627 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6628 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6629 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6633 @node Finding the Parent
6634 @section Finding the Parent
6635 @cindex parent articles
6636 @cindex referring articles
6641 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6642 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6643 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6644 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6645 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6646 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6647 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6648 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6649 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6651 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6652 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6653 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6654 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6655 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6659 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6660 @kindex A R (Summary)
6661 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6662 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6665 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6666 @kindex A T (Summary)
6667 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6668 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6669 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6670 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6671 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6672 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6673 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6675 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6676 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6677 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6678 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6679 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6680 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6683 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6684 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6686 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6687 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6688 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6689 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6690 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6691 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6692 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6695 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6696 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6697 by giving this command a prefix.
6699 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6700 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6701 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6702 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6703 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6704 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6707 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6708 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6709 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6710 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6711 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6712 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6715 @node Alternative Approaches
6716 @section Alternative Approaches
6718 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6719 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6722 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6723 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6728 @subsection Pick and Read
6729 @cindex pick and read
6731 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6732 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6733 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6734 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6736 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6737 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6738 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6739 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6740 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6741 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6743 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6748 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6749 Pick the article on the current line
6750 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6751 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6752 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6755 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6756 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6757 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6758 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6762 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6763 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6767 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6768 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6772 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6773 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6777 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6778 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6782 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6783 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6787 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6788 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6792 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6793 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6797 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6798 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6802 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6803 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6807 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6808 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6812 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6813 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6814 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6815 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6816 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6817 will still be visible when you are reading.
6821 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6824 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6827 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6828 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6830 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6831 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6832 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6834 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6835 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6836 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6837 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6838 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6839 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6840 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6844 @subsection Binary Groups
6845 @cindex binary groups
6847 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6848 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6849 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6850 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6851 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6852 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6853 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6856 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6857 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6858 command, when you have turned on this mode
6859 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6861 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6862 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6866 @section Tree Display
6869 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6870 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6871 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6872 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6875 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6878 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6879 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6880 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6882 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6883 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6884 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6885 is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
6888 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6889 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6890 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6891 default is @code{modeline}.
6893 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6894 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6895 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6896 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6897 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6898 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6899 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6905 The name of the poster.
6907 The @code{From} header.
6909 The number of the article.
6911 The opening bracket.
6913 The closing bracket.
6918 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6920 Variables related to the display are:
6923 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6924 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6925 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6926 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6927 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6928 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
6930 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6931 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6932 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6933 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6937 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6938 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6939 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6940 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6941 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6942 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
6943 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
6944 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
6945 other windows displayed next to it.
6947 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6948 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6949 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6950 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6951 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6952 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6953 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6957 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6960 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6970 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6974 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6975 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6977 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6979 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6984 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
6985 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
6986 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
6989 (setq gnus-use-trees t
6990 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6991 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
6992 (gnus-add-configuration
6996 (summary 0.75 point)
7001 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7004 @node Mail Group Commands
7005 @section Mail Group Commands
7006 @cindex mail group commands
7008 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7009 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7011 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7012 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7017 @kindex B e (Summary)
7018 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7019 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7020 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7023 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7024 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7025 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7026 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7027 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7028 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7031 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7032 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7033 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7034 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7035 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7036 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7039 @kindex B m (Summary)
7041 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7042 Move the article from one mail group to another
7043 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7046 @kindex B c (Summary)
7048 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7049 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7050 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7051 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7054 @kindex B C (Summary)
7055 @cindex crosspost mail
7056 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7057 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7058 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7059 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7060 be properly updated.
7063 @kindex B i (Summary)
7064 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7065 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7066 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7067 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7070 @kindex B r (Summary)
7071 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7072 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7073 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7074 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7075 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7079 @kindex B w (Summary)
7081 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7082 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7083 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7084 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7085 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7086 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7089 @kindex B q (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7091 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7092 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7093 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7096 @kindex B p (Summary)
7097 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7098 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7099 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7100 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7101 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7102 article from your news server (or rather, from
7103 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7104 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7105 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7106 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7107 just not have arrived yet.
7111 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7112 @cindex moving articles
7113 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7114 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7115 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7116 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7117 suggestions you find reasonable.
7120 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7121 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7122 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7123 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7127 @node Various Summary Stuff
7128 @section Various Summary Stuff
7131 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7132 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7133 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7134 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7138 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7139 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7140 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7142 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7143 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7144 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7145 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7146 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7147 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7150 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7151 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7152 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7153 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7154 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7156 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7157 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7158 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7159 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7160 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7161 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7162 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7163 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7164 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7165 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7170 @node Summary Group Information
7171 @subsection Summary Group Information
7176 @kindex H f (Summary)
7177 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7178 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7179 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7180 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7181 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7182 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7183 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7184 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7185 be used for fetching the file.
7188 @kindex H d (Summary)
7189 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7190 Give a brief description of the current group
7191 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7192 rereading the description from the server.
7195 @kindex H h (Summary)
7196 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7197 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7198 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7201 @kindex H i (Summary)
7202 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7203 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7207 @node Searching for Articles
7208 @subsection Searching for Articles
7213 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7214 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7215 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7216 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7219 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7220 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7221 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7222 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7226 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7227 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7228 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7229 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7233 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7235 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7236 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7239 @node Summary Generation Commands
7240 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7245 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7246 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7247 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7250 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7252 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7253 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7258 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7259 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7264 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7265 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7266 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7267 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7268 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7269 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7270 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7271 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7272 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7276 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7277 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7278 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7279 several documents into one biiig group
7280 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7281 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7282 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7283 command understands the process/prefix convention
7284 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7287 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7289 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7290 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7291 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7292 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7296 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7297 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7298 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7303 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7304 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7305 @cindex summary exit
7306 @cindex exiting groups
7308 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7309 group and return you to the group buffer.
7315 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7317 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7318 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7319 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7320 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7321 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7322 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7323 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7324 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7325 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7326 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7327 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7331 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7333 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7334 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7335 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7339 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7341 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7343 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7344 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7347 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7348 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7349 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7350 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7353 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7354 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7355 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7356 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7359 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7360 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7361 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7362 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7363 all articles, both read and unread.
7367 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7368 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7369 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7370 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7371 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7372 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7373 articles, both read and unread.
7376 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7377 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7378 Exit the group and go to the next group
7379 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7382 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7383 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7384 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7385 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7388 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7389 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7390 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7391 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7392 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7393 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7396 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7397 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7400 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7401 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7402 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7403 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7404 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7405 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7406 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7407 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7408 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7409 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7410 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7411 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7413 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7415 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7416 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7417 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7418 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7419 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7420 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7421 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7422 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7423 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7426 @node Crosspost Handling
7427 @section Crosspost Handling
7431 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7432 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7433 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7434 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7435 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7436 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7439 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7440 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7441 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7442 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7443 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7445 @cindex cross-posting
7448 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7449 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7450 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7451 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7452 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7453 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7454 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7455 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7456 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7457 the cross reference mechanism.
7459 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7460 @cindex overview.fmt
7461 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7462 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7463 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7464 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7465 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7466 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7469 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7470 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7471 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7476 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7479 @node Duplicate Suppression
7480 @section Duplicate Suppression
7482 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7483 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7484 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7485 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7490 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7491 is evil and not very common.
7494 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7495 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7498 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7499 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7502 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7505 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7506 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7508 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7509 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7510 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7511 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7512 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7513 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7514 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7517 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7518 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7519 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7520 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7521 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7525 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7526 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7527 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7529 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7530 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7531 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7532 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7533 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7534 session are suppressed.
7536 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7537 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7538 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7539 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7541 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7542 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7543 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7544 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7547 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7548 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7549 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7550 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7551 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7552 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7553 to you to figure out, I think.
7556 @node The Article Buffer
7557 @chapter The Article Buffer
7558 @cindex article buffer
7560 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7561 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7562 tell Gnus otherwise.
7565 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7566 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7567 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7568 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7569 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7573 @node Hiding Headers
7574 @section Hiding Headers
7575 @cindex hiding headers
7576 @cindex deleting headers
7578 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7579 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7581 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7582 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7583 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7584 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7585 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7586 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7587 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7588 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7589 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7591 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7595 @item gnus-visible-headers
7596 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7597 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7598 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7599 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7601 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7602 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7605 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7608 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7611 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7612 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7613 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7614 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7615 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7616 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7618 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7619 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7622 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7625 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7628 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7629 variable will have no effect.
7633 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7634 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7635 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7636 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7637 the headers are to be displayed.
7639 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7640 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7643 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7646 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7647 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7649 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7650 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7651 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7652 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7653 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7654 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7655 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7656 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7657 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7659 These conditions are:
7662 Remove all empty headers.
7664 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7667 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7668 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7670 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7673 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7676 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7679 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7682 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7683 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7686 This is also the default value for this variable.
7690 @section Using @sc{mime}
7693 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7694 while people stand around yawning.
7696 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7697 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7699 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7700 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7701 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7703 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7704 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7705 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7706 @findex metamail-buffer
7707 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7708 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7709 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7710 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7711 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7712 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7713 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7714 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7716 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7717 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7718 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7719 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7720 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7721 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7722 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7723 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7724 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7726 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7729 @node Customizing Articles
7730 @section Customizing Articles
7731 @cindex article customization
7733 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7734 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7735 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7736 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7738 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7739 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7740 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7741 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7742 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7743 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7744 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7745 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7746 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7748 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7749 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7750 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7751 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7752 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7755 @node Article Keymap
7756 @section Article Keymap
7758 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7759 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7760 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7761 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7764 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7769 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7770 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7771 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7774 @kindex DEL (Article)
7775 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7776 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7779 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7780 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7781 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7782 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7783 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7786 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7787 @findex gnus-article-mail
7788 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7789 given a prefix, include the mail.
7793 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7794 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7795 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7799 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7800 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7801 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7804 @kindex TAB (Article)
7805 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7806 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7807 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7810 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7811 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7812 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7818 @section Misc Article
7822 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7823 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7824 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7825 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7828 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7829 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7830 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7831 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7832 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7833 the contents of the article buffer.
7835 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7836 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7837 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7838 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7839 hiding headers, and the like.
7841 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7842 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7843 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7845 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7846 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7847 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7848 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7850 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7851 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7852 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7853 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7854 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7858 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7859 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7863 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7865 @item gnus-break-pages
7866 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7867 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7868 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7869 paging will not be done.
7871 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7872 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7873 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7878 @node Composing Messages
7879 @chapter Composing Messages
7884 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7885 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7886 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7887 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7888 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7889 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7890 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7893 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7894 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7895 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7896 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7897 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7898 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7899 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7902 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7903 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7909 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7912 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7913 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7914 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7915 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7917 @item gnus-add-to-list
7918 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
7919 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
7920 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
7928 Variables for composing news articles:
7931 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7932 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7933 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7934 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7935 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7936 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
7937 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7938 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7939 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7942 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7943 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7944 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7945 file. It is 1000 by default.
7950 @node Posting Server
7951 @section Posting Server
7953 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7954 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7956 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7958 @vindex gnus-post-method
7960 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7961 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7962 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7963 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7964 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7967 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7970 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7971 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7972 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7973 the ``current'' server for posting.
7975 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7976 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7978 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7979 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7984 @section Mail and Post
7986 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
7990 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7991 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7992 @cindex mailing lists
7994 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
7995 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7996 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7997 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7998 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7999 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8000 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8001 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8002 still a pain, though.
8006 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8007 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8008 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8011 @findex ispell-message
8013 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8017 @node Archived Messages
8018 @section Archived Messages
8019 @cindex archived messages
8020 @cindex sent messages
8022 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8023 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8024 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8025 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8028 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8029 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8030 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8034 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8035 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8036 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8037 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8040 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8041 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8042 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8043 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8046 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8047 '(nnfolder "archive"
8048 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8049 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8050 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8053 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8055 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8056 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8057 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8059 This variable can be used to do the following:
8063 Messages will be saved in that group.
8064 @item a list of strings
8065 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8066 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8067 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8069 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8074 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8076 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8079 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8081 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8084 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8086 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8087 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8088 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8089 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8094 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8095 '((if (message-news-p)
8100 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8101 messages in one file per month:
8104 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8105 '((if (message-news-p)
8107 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8108 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8111 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8112 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8114 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8115 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8116 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8117 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8118 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8119 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8120 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8121 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8122 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8123 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8125 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8126 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8127 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8128 this will disable archiving.
8131 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8132 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8133 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8134 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8135 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8138 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8139 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8140 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8143 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8144 but the latter is the preferred method.
8148 @c @node Posting Styles
8149 @c @section Posting Styles
8150 @c @cindex posting styles
8153 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8155 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8156 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8157 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8160 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8161 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8162 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8163 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8164 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8169 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8170 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8172 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8173 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8174 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8177 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8178 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8179 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8180 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8181 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8182 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8183 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8184 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8186 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8187 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8188 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8189 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8190 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8191 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8194 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8195 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8196 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8197 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8198 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8201 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8202 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8203 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8205 @c So here's a new example:
8208 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8210 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8211 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8212 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8213 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8215 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8216 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8217 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8218 @c (posting-from-work-p
8219 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8220 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8221 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8223 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8230 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8231 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8232 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8233 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8234 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8236 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8237 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8238 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8239 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8240 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8244 @vindex nndraft-directory
8245 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8246 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8247 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8248 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8249 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8250 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8252 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8253 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8256 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8257 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8258 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8259 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8260 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8261 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8262 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8263 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8264 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8265 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8266 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8267 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8268 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8269 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8271 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8272 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8273 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8275 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8277 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8278 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8279 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8281 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8284 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8285 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8286 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8287 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8288 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8289 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8290 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8293 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8294 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8295 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8298 @node Rejected Articles
8299 @section Rejected Articles
8300 @cindex rejected articles
8302 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8303 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8304 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8305 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8307 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8308 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8309 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8310 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8311 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8313 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8314 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8315 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8318 @node Select Methods
8319 @chapter Select Methods
8320 @cindex foreign groups
8321 @cindex select methods
8323 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8324 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8325 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8326 personal mail group.
8328 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8329 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8330 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8331 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8332 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8333 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8335 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8336 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8338 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8341 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8342 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8343 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8344 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8345 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8347 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8350 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8351 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8352 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8353 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8354 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8355 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8359 @node The Server Buffer
8360 @section The Server Buffer
8362 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8363 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8364 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8365 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8366 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8367 backend represents a virtual server.
8369 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8370 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8371 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8372 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8374 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8375 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8376 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8377 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8378 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8379 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8380 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8382 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8383 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8386 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8387 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8388 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8389 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8390 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8391 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8392 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8395 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8396 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8399 @node Server Buffer Format
8400 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8401 @cindex server buffer format
8403 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8404 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8405 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8406 variable, with some simple extensions:
8411 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8414 The name of this server.
8417 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8420 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8423 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8424 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8425 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8436 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8439 @node Server Commands
8440 @subsection Server Commands
8441 @cindex server commands
8447 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8448 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8452 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8453 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8456 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8457 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8458 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8462 @findex gnus-server-exit
8463 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8467 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8468 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8472 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8473 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8477 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8478 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8482 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8483 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8487 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8488 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8489 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8494 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8495 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8496 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8497 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8502 @node Example Methods
8503 @subsection Example Methods
8505 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8508 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8511 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8517 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8518 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8521 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8522 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8524 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8525 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8529 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8532 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8533 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8535 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8536 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8537 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8541 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8544 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8547 Here's the method for a public spool:
8551 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8552 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8555 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8556 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8557 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8558 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8559 should probably look something like this:
8563 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8564 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8565 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8566 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8567 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8572 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8573 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8575 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8576 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8578 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8579 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8580 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8582 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8584 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8585 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8586 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8587 will contain the following:
8597 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8598 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8599 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8602 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8603 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8604 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8607 @node Server Variables
8608 @subsection Server Variables
8610 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8611 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8612 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8613 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8614 won't change the "derived" variables.
8616 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8617 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8618 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8619 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8620 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8621 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8622 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8623 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8624 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8628 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8629 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8630 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8634 @node Servers and Methods
8635 @subsection Servers and Methods
8637 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8638 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8639 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8640 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8644 @node Unavailable Servers
8645 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8647 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8648 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8649 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8650 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8651 actually the case or not.
8653 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8654 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8655 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8656 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8657 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8658 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8659 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8660 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8662 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8663 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8665 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8666 with the following commands:
8672 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8673 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8674 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8678 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8679 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8680 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8684 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8685 Mark the current server as unreachable
8686 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8689 @kindex M-o (Server)
8690 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8691 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8692 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8695 @kindex M-c (Server)
8696 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8697 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8698 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8702 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8703 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8704 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8710 @section Getting News
8711 @cindex reading news
8712 @cindex news backends
8714 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8715 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8716 or it can read from a local spool.
8719 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8720 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8725 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8728 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8729 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8730 server as the, uhm, address.
8732 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8733 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8734 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8735 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8737 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8738 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8739 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8741 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8746 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8747 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8748 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8750 @cindex authentification
8751 @cindex nntp authentification
8752 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8753 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8754 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8755 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8756 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8757 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8758 present in this hook.
8760 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8761 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8762 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8763 server. Available functions include:
8766 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8767 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8768 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8769 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8771 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8772 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8773 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8775 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8776 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8777 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8778 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8781 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8782 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8783 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8784 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8785 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8788 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8792 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8794 The default value is
8797 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8798 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8801 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8802 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8804 @item nntp-maximum-request
8805 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8806 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8807 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8808 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8809 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8810 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8811 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8813 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8814 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8815 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8816 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8817 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8818 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8819 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8820 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8821 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8822 no timeouts are done.
8824 @item nntp-command-timeout
8825 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8826 @cindex PPP connections
8827 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8828 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8829 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8830 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8831 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8832 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8833 then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
8834 number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8835 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8836 likely number is 30 seconds.
8838 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8839 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8840 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8841 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8844 @item nntp-server-hook
8845 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8846 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8849 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8850 @findex nntp-open-telnet
8851 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8852 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8853 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8854 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Three pre-made
8855 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8856 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8857 two are @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an @samp{rlogin} on the
8858 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
8859 available there, and @code{nntp-open-telnet}, which does a @samp{telnet}
8860 to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet} to get to the
8863 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
8867 @item nntp-rlogin-program
8868 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
8869 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
8870 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
8872 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8873 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8874 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8876 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8877 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8878 User name on the remote system.
8882 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
8885 @item nntp-telnet-command
8886 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
8887 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
8889 @item nntp-telnet-switches
8890 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
8891 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
8893 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
8894 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
8895 User name for log in on the remote system.
8897 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
8898 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
8899 Password to use when logging in.
8901 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
8902 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
8903 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
8908 @item nntp-end-of-line
8909 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8910 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8911 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8912 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8914 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8915 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8916 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8920 @vindex nntp-address
8921 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8923 @item nntp-port-number
8924 @vindex nntp-port-number
8925 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8928 @item nntp-buggy-select
8929 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8930 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8932 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8933 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8934 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8935 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
8938 @item nntp-xover-commands
8939 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8942 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8943 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8947 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8948 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8949 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8950 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8951 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8952 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
8953 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8954 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8955 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8956 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8957 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
8959 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8960 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8961 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8963 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8964 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8965 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8966 server closes connection.
8972 @subsection News Spool
8976 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8977 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8978 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8981 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
8982 anything else) as the address.
8984 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8985 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8986 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8987 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8991 @item nnspool-inews-program
8992 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8993 Program used to post an article.
8995 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8996 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8997 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8999 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9000 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9001 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9002 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9004 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9005 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9006 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9007 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9009 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9010 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9011 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9013 @item nnspool-active-file
9014 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9015 The path to the active file.
9017 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9018 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9019 The path to the group descriptions file.
9021 @item nnspool-history-file
9022 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9023 The path to the news history file.
9025 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9026 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9027 The path to the active date file.
9029 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9030 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9031 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9034 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9035 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9037 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9038 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9039 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9045 @section Getting Mail
9046 @cindex reading mail
9049 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9053 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9054 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9055 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9056 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9057 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9058 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9059 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9060 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9061 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9062 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9063 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9067 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9068 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9070 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9071 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9072 and things will happen automatically.
9074 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9075 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9078 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9079 '((nnml "private")))
9082 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9083 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9084 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9085 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9086 like any other group.
9088 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9091 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9092 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9093 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9097 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9098 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9099 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9102 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9103 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9104 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9107 @node Splitting Mail
9108 @subsection Splitting Mail
9109 @cindex splitting mail
9110 @cindex mail splitting
9112 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9113 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9114 to be split into groups.
9117 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9118 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9119 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9123 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9124 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9125 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9126 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9127 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9128 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9129 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9132 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9135 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9136 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9139 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9140 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9141 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9142 mail belongs in that group.
9144 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9145 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9146 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9147 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9148 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9149 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9151 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9152 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9153 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9154 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9155 thinks should carry this mail message.
9157 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9158 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9159 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9160 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9162 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9163 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9164 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9165 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9166 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9168 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9171 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9172 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9173 links. If that's the case for you, set
9174 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9175 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9177 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9178 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9179 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9180 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9182 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9183 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9184 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9185 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9186 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9187 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9188 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9189 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9193 @node Mail Backend Variables
9194 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9196 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9200 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9201 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9202 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9203 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9205 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9206 @item nnmail-spool-file
9210 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9211 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9212 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9213 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9214 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9215 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9216 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9217 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9218 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9219 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9220 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9221 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9222 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9223 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9224 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9226 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9228 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9229 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9232 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9233 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9234 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9235 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9236 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9237 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9239 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9240 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9241 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9242 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9243 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9244 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9245 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9248 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9249 @item nnmail-crash-box
9250 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9251 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9252 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9255 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9256 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9257 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9258 used for, well, anything, really.
9260 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9261 @item nnmail-split-hook
9262 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9263 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9264 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9265 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9266 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9267 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9268 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9269 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9271 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9272 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9273 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9274 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9275 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9276 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9277 starting to handle the new mail) and
9278 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9279 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9280 default file modes the new mail files get:
9283 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9284 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9286 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9287 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9290 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9291 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9292 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9293 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9294 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9295 it will be used instead.
9297 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9298 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9299 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9300 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9302 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9303 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9306 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9307 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9308 @cindex incoming mail files
9309 @cindex deleting incoming files
9310 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9311 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9314 @c This is @code{nil} by
9315 @c default for reasons of security.
9317 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9318 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9319 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9320 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9321 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9324 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9326 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9327 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9328 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9329 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9330 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9331 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9332 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9334 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9335 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9337 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9339 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9340 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9341 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9342 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9343 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9348 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9349 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9350 @cindex mail splitting
9351 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9353 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9354 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9355 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9356 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9357 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9358 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9360 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9363 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9364 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9365 ;; from real errors.
9366 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9368 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9369 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9370 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9371 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9372 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9373 ;; Other mailing lists...
9374 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9375 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9377 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9378 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9382 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9383 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9384 the five possible split syntaxes:
9389 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9392 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9393 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9394 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9397 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9398 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9399 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9400 be stored in one or more groups.
9403 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9404 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9407 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9408 this message anywhere.
9411 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9412 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9413 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9418 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9419 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9420 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9421 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9422 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9424 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9425 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9426 are expanded as specified by the variable
9427 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9428 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9431 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9432 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9433 when all this splitting is performed.
9435 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9436 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9437 substitions in the group names), you can say things like:
9440 (any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9443 @node Mail and Procmail
9444 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9449 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9450 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9451 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9452 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9453 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9455 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9456 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9459 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9460 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9461 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9462 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9463 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9464 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9466 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9469 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9471 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9472 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9474 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9475 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9476 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9477 to include all your mail groups.
9479 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9480 method will be created automatically.
9482 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9483 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9484 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9485 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9486 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9487 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9488 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9489 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9491 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9492 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9493 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9494 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9495 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9497 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9498 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9499 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9500 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9501 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9502 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9504 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9505 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9506 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9507 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9508 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9511 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9512 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9513 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9514 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9515 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9519 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9520 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9522 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9523 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9524 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9527 Doing so can be quite easy.
9529 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9530 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9531 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9532 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9533 your @code{nnml} groups.
9539 Go to the group buffer.
9542 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9543 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9546 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9549 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9550 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9553 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9554 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9557 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9558 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9559 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9560 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9561 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9563 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9564 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9565 using the new mail backend.
9569 @subsection Expiring Mail
9570 @cindex article expiry
9572 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9573 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9574 different approach to mail reading.
9576 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9577 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9578 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9579 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9580 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9581 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9584 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9585 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9586 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9587 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9588 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9589 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9590 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9591 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9593 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9594 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9595 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9596 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9597 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9598 column in the summary buffer.
9600 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9601 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9602 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9603 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9606 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9608 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9609 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9610 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9613 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9614 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9615 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9616 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9617 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9619 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9620 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9623 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9624 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9627 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9628 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9630 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9631 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9632 don't really mix very well.
9634 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9635 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9636 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9637 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9640 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9641 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9642 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9643 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9646 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9648 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9650 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9652 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9654 ((string= group "important")
9660 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9661 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9663 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9664 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9665 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9668 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9669 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9671 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9672 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9673 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9674 easier for procmail users.
9676 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9677 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9678 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9679 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9680 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9681 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9682 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9683 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9684 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9685 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9686 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9687 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9688 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9691 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9695 @subsection Washing Mail
9696 @cindex mail washing
9697 @cindex list server brain damage
9698 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9700 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9701 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9702 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9703 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9704 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9705 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9707 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9708 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9709 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9712 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9713 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9714 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9715 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9718 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9719 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9720 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9721 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9724 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9725 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9726 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9727 Emacs running on MS machines.
9731 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9732 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9733 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9734 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9737 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9738 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9739 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9740 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9742 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9743 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9744 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9745 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9746 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9747 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9748 also be a list of regexp.
9750 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9751 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9754 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9755 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9758 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9759 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9760 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9764 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9765 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9766 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9770 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9771 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9772 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9779 @subsection Duplicates
9781 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9782 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9783 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9784 @cindex duplicate mails
9785 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
9786 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9787 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9788 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9789 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9790 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9791 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9792 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9793 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9794 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9795 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9796 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
9797 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
9799 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9800 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9801 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9802 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9804 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9807 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9808 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9812 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9813 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9814 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9815 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9816 (any mail "mail.misc")
9823 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9824 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9829 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9830 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9831 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9832 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9833 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9836 @node Not Reading Mail
9837 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9839 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9840 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9841 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9843 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9844 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9846 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9847 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9848 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9849 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9850 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9851 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9852 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9853 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9854 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9855 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9856 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9858 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9859 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9863 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9864 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9866 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9867 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9868 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9871 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9872 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9873 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9874 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9875 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9880 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9882 @cindex unix mail box
9884 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9885 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9886 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9887 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9888 which group it belongs in.
9890 Virtual server settings:
9893 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9894 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9895 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9897 @item nnmbox-active-file
9898 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9899 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9901 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9902 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9903 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9909 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9913 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9914 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9915 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9916 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9917 article to say which group it belongs in.
9919 Virtual server settings:
9922 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9923 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9924 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9926 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9927 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9928 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9930 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9931 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9932 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9937 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9939 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9941 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9942 format. It should be used with some caution.
9944 @vindex nnml-directory
9945 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
9946 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
9947 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9948 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9950 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9953 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9954 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9955 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9956 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9957 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9958 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9959 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9960 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9962 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9963 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9964 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
9965 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9967 Virtual server settings:
9970 @item nnml-directory
9971 @vindex nnml-directory
9972 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9974 @item nnml-active-file
9975 @vindex nnml-active-file
9976 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9978 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9979 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9980 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9983 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9984 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9985 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9987 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9988 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9989 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9991 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9992 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9993 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9995 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9996 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9997 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10001 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10002 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10003 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10004 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10005 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10006 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10007 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10012 @subsubsection MH Spool
10014 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10016 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10017 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10018 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10019 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10021 Virtual server settings:
10024 @item nnmh-directory
10025 @vindex nnmh-directory
10026 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10028 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10029 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10030 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10033 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10034 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10035 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10036 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10037 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10038 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10039 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10044 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10046 @cindex mbox folders
10047 @cindex mail folders
10049 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10050 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10051 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10054 Virtual server settings:
10057 @item nnfolder-directory
10058 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10059 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10061 @item nnfolder-active-file
10062 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10063 The name of the active file.
10065 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10066 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10067 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10069 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10070 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10071 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10074 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10075 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10076 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10077 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10078 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10079 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10082 @node Other Sources
10083 @section Other Sources
10085 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10086 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10090 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10091 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10092 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10093 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10094 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10095 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10099 @node Directory Groups
10100 @subsection Directory Groups
10102 @cindex directory groups
10104 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10105 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10108 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10109 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10110 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10111 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10113 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10114 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10115 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10116 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10117 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10119 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10121 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10122 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10123 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10124 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10127 @node Anything Groups
10128 @subsection Anything Groups
10131 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10132 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10133 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10136 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10137 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10138 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10139 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10140 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10141 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10142 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10143 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10144 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10145 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10148 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10149 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10150 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10151 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10153 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10154 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10155 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10156 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10158 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10159 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10160 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10161 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10162 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10163 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10164 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10165 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10170 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10171 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10172 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10173 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10175 @item nneething-exclude-files
10176 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10177 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10178 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10180 @item nneething-map-file
10181 @vindex nneething-map-file
10182 Name of the map files.
10186 @node Document Groups
10187 @subsection Document Groups
10189 @cindex documentation group
10192 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10193 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10200 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10205 The standard Unix mbox file.
10207 @cindex MMDF mail box
10209 The MMDF mail box format.
10212 Several news articles appended into a file.
10215 @cindex rnews batch files
10216 The rnews batch transport format.
10217 @cindex forwarded messages
10220 Forwarded articles.
10224 @cindex MIME digest
10225 @cindex 1153 digest
10226 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10227 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10228 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10230 @item standard-digest
10231 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10234 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10237 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10238 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10239 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10242 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10243 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10244 group. And that's it.
10246 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10247 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10248 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10249 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10250 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10251 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10252 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10253 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10254 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10255 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10257 Virtual server variables:
10260 @item nndoc-article-type
10261 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10262 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10263 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10264 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10265 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10267 @item nndoc-post-type
10268 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10269 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10270 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10275 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10279 @node Document Server Internals
10280 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10282 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10283 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10284 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10285 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10287 First, here's an example document type definition:
10291 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10292 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10295 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10296 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10297 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10298 types can be defined with very few settings:
10301 @item first-article
10302 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10303 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10306 @item article-begin
10307 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10308 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10310 @item head-begin-function
10311 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10314 @item nndoc-head-begin
10315 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10318 @item nndoc-head-end
10319 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10320 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10322 @item body-begin-function
10323 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10327 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10330 @item body-end-function
10331 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10335 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10338 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10339 regexp will be totally ignored.
10343 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10344 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10345 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10346 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10347 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10350 @item prepare-body-function
10351 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10352 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10353 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10355 @item article-transform-function
10356 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10357 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10358 body of the article.
10360 @item generate-head-function
10361 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10362 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10363 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10364 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10368 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10373 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10374 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10375 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10376 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10377 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10378 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10379 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10380 (subtype digest guess))
10383 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10384 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10385 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10386 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10387 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10389 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10390 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10391 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10392 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10393 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
10394 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10395 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10396 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10397 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10398 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10406 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10407 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10408 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10410 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10411 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10412 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10415 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10416 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10417 that interested in doing things properly.
10419 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10420 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10423 First some terminology:
10428 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10429 get news and/or mail from.
10432 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10433 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10436 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10440 @item message packets
10441 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10442 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10443 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10445 @item response packets
10446 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10447 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10448 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10458 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10459 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10460 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10461 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10464 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10467 You put the packet in your home directory.
10470 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10471 the native or secondary server.
10474 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10475 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10478 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10482 You transfer this packet to the server.
10485 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10488 You then repeat until you die.
10492 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10493 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10496 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10497 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10498 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10502 @node SOUP Commands
10503 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10505 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10509 @kindex G s b (Group)
10510 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10511 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10512 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10513 process/prefix convention.
10516 @kindex G s w (Group)
10517 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10518 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10521 @kindex G s s (Group)
10522 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10523 Send all replies from the replies packet
10524 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10527 @kindex G s p (Group)
10528 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10529 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10532 @kindex G s r (Group)
10533 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10534 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10537 @kindex O s (Summary)
10538 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10539 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10540 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10541 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10546 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10551 @item gnus-soup-directory
10552 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10553 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10554 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10556 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10557 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10558 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10559 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10561 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10562 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10563 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10564 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10566 @item gnus-soup-packer
10567 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10568 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10569 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10571 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10572 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10573 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10574 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10576 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10577 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10578 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10580 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10581 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10582 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10583 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10589 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10592 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10593 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10594 you can read them at leisure.
10596 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10600 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10601 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10602 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10603 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10605 @item nnsoup-directory
10606 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10607 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10608 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10610 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10611 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10612 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10613 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10615 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10616 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10617 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10618 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10619 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10621 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10622 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10623 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10624 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10626 @item nnsoup-active-file
10627 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10628 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10629 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10630 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10631 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10633 @item nnsoup-packer
10634 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10635 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10636 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10638 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10639 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10640 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10641 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10643 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10644 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10645 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10648 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10649 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10650 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10653 @item nnsoup-always-save
10654 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10655 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10661 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10663 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10664 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10665 more for that to happen.
10667 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10668 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10669 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10672 In specific, this is what it does:
10675 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10676 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10679 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10680 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10681 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10685 @subsection Web Searches
10689 @cindex InReference
10690 @cindex Usenet searches
10691 @cindex searching the Usenet
10693 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10694 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10695 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10696 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10697 searches without having to use a browser.
10699 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10700 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10701 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10702 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10703 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10705 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10706 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10707 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10708 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10709 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10710 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10711 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10712 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10713 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10714 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10717 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10718 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10719 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10720 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10721 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10722 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10724 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10725 to use @code{nnweb}.
10727 Virtual server variables:
10732 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10733 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
10736 @vindex nnweb-search
10737 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10739 @item nnweb-max-hits
10740 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10741 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10744 @item nnweb-type-definition
10745 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10746 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10747 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10752 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10756 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10759 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10762 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10766 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10773 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10774 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10775 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10778 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10779 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10780 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10782 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10788 @item nngateway-address
10789 @vindex nngateway-address
10790 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10792 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10793 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10794 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10795 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10796 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10797 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10798 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10801 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10802 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
10803 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
10806 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10809 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10812 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10817 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10820 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10824 @node Combined Groups
10825 @section Combined Groups
10827 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10831 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10832 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10836 @node Virtual Groups
10837 @subsection Virtual Groups
10839 @cindex virtual groups
10841 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10844 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
10845 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10846 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10848 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10849 regexp to match component groups.
10851 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10852 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10853 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10854 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10855 the virtual group.)
10857 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10858 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10861 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10864 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10865 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10867 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10868 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10869 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10870 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10873 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10876 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10877 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10878 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10879 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10880 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
10882 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
10883 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10884 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10886 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10887 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10888 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10889 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10890 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10891 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10892 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10893 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
10894 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10895 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10896 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10899 @node Kibozed Groups
10900 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10904 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10905 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10906 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10907 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10909 @kindex G k (Group)
10910 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10913 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10914 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10915 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10916 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
10918 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10919 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
10920 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10922 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10923 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10924 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10925 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10926 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10927 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
10928 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10929 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10931 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10932 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10933 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10934 Stranger things have happened.
10936 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10937 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10939 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10940 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10941 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10942 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10943 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10944 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
10946 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
10947 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10950 @node Gnus Unplugged
10951 @section Gnus Unplugged
10956 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
10958 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
10959 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
10960 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
10961 read news. Believe it or not.
10963 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
10964 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
10965 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
10966 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
10967 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
10969 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
10970 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
10971 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
10972 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
10973 reading news on a machine.
10975 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
10979 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
10980 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
10984 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
10985 @file{.gnus.el} file:
10992 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
10994 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
10997 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
10998 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
10999 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11000 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11001 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11002 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11007 @subsection Agent Basics
11009 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11011 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11012 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11013 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11014 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11016 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11017 connected to the net continously.
11019 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11020 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11022 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11027 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11028 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11029 already fetched while in this mode.
11032 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11033 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11034 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11037 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11038 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11039 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11040 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11043 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11044 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11045 then you read the news offline.
11048 And then you go to step 2.
11051 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11057 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11058 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11059 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11060 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11061 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11062 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11065 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11072 @node Agent Categories
11073 @subsection Agent Categories
11075 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11076 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11077 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11078 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11079 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11080 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11081 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11083 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11084 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11085 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11088 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11089 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11090 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11094 @node Category Syntax
11095 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11097 A category consists of two things.
11101 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11102 are eligible for downloading; and
11105 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11106 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11107 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11110 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11113 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11115 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11116 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11122 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11123 short (for some value of ``short'').
11125 Here's a more complex predicate:
11134 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11135 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11138 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11139 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11140 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11142 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11143 you want to do, you can write your own.
11147 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11148 lines; default 100.
11151 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11152 lines; default 200.
11155 True iff the article has a download score less than
11156 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11159 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11160 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11163 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11164 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11165 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11174 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11175 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11176 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11179 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11180 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11181 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11182 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11183 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11184 and @code{References}.
11187 @node The Category Buffer
11188 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11190 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11191 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11192 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11194 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11198 @kindex q (Category)
11199 @findex gnus-category-exit
11200 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11203 @kindex k (Category)
11204 @findex gnus-category-kill
11205 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11208 @kindex c (Category)
11209 @findex gnus-category-copy
11210 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11213 @kindex a (Category)
11214 @findex gnus-category-add
11215 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11218 @kindex p (Category)
11219 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11220 Edit the predicate of the current category
11221 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11224 @kindex g (Category)
11225 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11226 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11227 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11230 @kindex s (Category)
11231 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11232 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11233 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11236 @kindex l (Category)
11237 @findex gnus-category-list
11238 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11242 @node Category Variables
11243 @subsubsection Category Variables
11246 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11247 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11248 Hook run in category buffers.
11250 @item gnus-category-line-format
11251 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11252 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11253 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11257 The name of the category.
11260 The number of groups in the category.
11263 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11264 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11265 Format of the category mode line.
11267 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11268 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11269 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11271 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11272 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11273 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11275 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11276 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11277 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11280 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11281 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11282 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11288 @node Agent Commands
11289 @subsection Agent Commands
11291 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11292 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11293 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11297 * Group Agent Commands::
11298 * Summary Agent Commands::
11299 * Server Agent Commands::
11303 @node Group Agent Commands
11304 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11308 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11309 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
11310 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11311 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
11314 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11315 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11316 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11319 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11320 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11321 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11322 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11325 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11326 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11327 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11328 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11331 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11332 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11333 Add the current group to an Agent category
11334 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11339 @node Summary Agent Commands
11340 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11344 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11345 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11346 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11349 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11350 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11351 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11352 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11355 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11356 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11357 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11360 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11361 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11362 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11367 @node Server Agent Commands
11368 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11372 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11373 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11374 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11375 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11378 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11379 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11380 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11381 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11386 @node Outgoing Messages
11387 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11389 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11390 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11391 after posting, and edit them at will.
11393 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11394 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11395 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11396 messages in the draft group.
11400 @node Agent Variables
11401 @subsection Agent Variables
11404 @item gnus-agent-directory
11405 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11406 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11407 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11409 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11410 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11411 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11413 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11414 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11415 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11420 @node Example Setup
11421 @subsection Example Setup
11423 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11424 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11425 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11428 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11429 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11430 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11432 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11433 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11434 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11435 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11437 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11438 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11440 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11444 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11445 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11448 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11449 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11450 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11451 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11452 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11455 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11456 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11457 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11458 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11459 back all the killed groups.)
11461 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11462 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11463 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11470 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11471 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11472 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11475 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11476 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11477 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11478 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11479 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11481 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11482 before generating the summary buffer.
11484 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11485 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11486 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11488 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11489 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11490 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11491 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11494 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11495 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11496 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11497 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11498 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11499 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11500 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11501 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11502 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11503 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11504 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11505 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11506 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11507 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11508 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11509 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11513 @node Summary Score Commands
11514 @section Summary Score Commands
11515 @cindex score commands
11517 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11518 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11519 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11520 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11521 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11523 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11524 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11525 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11526 score file the current one.
11528 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11533 @kindex V s (Summary)
11534 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11535 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11538 @kindex V S (Summary)
11539 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11540 Display the score of the current article
11541 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11544 @kindex V t (Summary)
11545 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11546 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11547 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11550 @kindex V R (Summary)
11551 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11552 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11553 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11554 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11555 effect you're having.
11558 @kindex V a (Summary)
11559 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
11560 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
11561 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
11564 @kindex V c (Summary)
11565 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11566 Make a different score file the current
11567 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11570 @kindex V e (Summary)
11571 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11572 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11573 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11577 @kindex V f (Summary)
11578 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11579 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11580 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11583 @kindex V F (Summary)
11584 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11585 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11586 after editing score files.
11589 @kindex V C (Summary)
11590 @findex gnus-score-customize
11591 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11592 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11596 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11601 @kindex V m (Summary)
11602 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11603 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11604 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11607 @kindex V x (Summary)
11608 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11609 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11610 expunge all articles below this score
11611 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11614 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11615 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11618 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11619 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11623 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11624 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11626 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11627 keys are available:
11631 Score on the author name.
11634 Score on the subject line.
11637 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11640 Score on thread---the References line.
11646 Score on the number of lines.
11649 Score on the Message-ID.
11652 Score on followups.
11662 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11663 what headers you are scoring on.
11675 Substring matching.
11678 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
11707 Greater than number.
11712 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
11713 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
11714 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
11718 Temporary score entry.
11721 Permanent score entry.
11724 Immediately scoring.
11729 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
11730 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
11731 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
11732 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
11734 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
11735 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
11736 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
11737 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
11738 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
11740 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
11741 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
11742 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
11743 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
11744 current score file.
11746 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
11747 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
11748 pretend they are keymaps or not.
11751 @node Group Score Commands
11752 @section Group Score Commands
11753 @cindex group score commands
11755 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
11760 @kindex W f (Group)
11761 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11762 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
11763 all the time. This command will flush the cache
11764 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
11769 @node Score Variables
11770 @section Score Variables
11771 @cindex score variables
11775 @item gnus-use-scoring
11776 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
11777 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
11778 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
11780 @item gnus-kill-killed
11781 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
11782 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
11783 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
11784 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
11785 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
11786 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
11787 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
11789 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
11790 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
11791 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
11792 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
11793 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
11795 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
11796 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
11797 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
11798 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
11800 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11801 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
11802 @cindex score cache
11803 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
11804 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
11805 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
11806 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
11807 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
11808 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
11811 @item gnus-save-score
11812 @vindex gnus-save-score
11813 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
11814 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
11815 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
11817 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11818 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
11819 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
11820 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
11821 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
11822 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
11823 manually entered data.
11825 @item gnus-summary-default-score
11826 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
11827 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
11829 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
11830 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
11831 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
11832 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
11833 articles will be hidden.
11835 @item gnus-score-over-mark
11836 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
11837 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
11838 default. Default is @samp{+}.
11840 @item gnus-score-below-mark
11841 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
11842 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
11843 default. Default is @samp{-}.
11845 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11846 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
11847 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
11848 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
11850 Predefined functions available are:
11853 @item gnus-score-find-single
11854 @findex gnus-score-find-single
11855 Only apply the group's own score file.
11857 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
11858 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
11859 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
11860 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
11861 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
11862 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
11863 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
11864 then a regexp match is done.
11866 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
11867 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
11869 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
11870 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
11871 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
11872 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
11874 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
11875 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
11876 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
11877 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
11878 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
11881 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
11882 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
11883 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
11884 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
11885 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
11886 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
11889 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
11890 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
11891 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
11892 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
11893 are expired. It's 7 by default.
11895 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
11896 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
11897 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
11898 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
11899 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
11900 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
11901 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
11904 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
11905 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
11906 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
11911 @node Score File Format
11912 @section Score File Format
11913 @cindex score file format
11915 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
11916 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
11917 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
11919 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
11923 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
11925 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
11927 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
11929 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
11934 (mark-and-expunge -10)
11938 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
11939 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
11940 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
11941 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
11945 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
11946 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
11948 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
11949 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
11950 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
11952 Six keys are supported by this alist:
11957 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
11958 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
11959 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
11960 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
11961 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
11962 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
11963 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
11964 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
11965 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
11966 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
11967 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
11968 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
11969 to articles that matches these score entries.
11971 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
11972 score entry has one to four elements.
11976 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
11977 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
11981 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
11982 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
11983 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
11984 is successful. If this element is not present, the
11985 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
11986 instead. This is 1000 by default.
11989 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
11990 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
11991 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
11992 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
11993 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
11996 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
11997 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
11998 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
11999 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12002 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12003 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12004 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12005 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12006 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12007 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12008 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12009 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12010 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12011 instead, if you feel like.
12014 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12015 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
12016 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
12017 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
12018 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
12019 the articles with few lines.
12022 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12023 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12024 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12025 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12026 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12027 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12028 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12032 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12033 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12034 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12035 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12036 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12037 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12038 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12039 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12042 @item Head, Body, All
12043 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12047 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12048 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12049 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12050 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12051 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12052 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12053 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12057 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12058 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
12059 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12060 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12061 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12062 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12063 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12064 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12065 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12066 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12070 @cindex Score File Atoms
12072 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12073 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12076 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12077 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12079 @item mark-and-expunge
12080 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12081 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12084 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12085 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12086 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12087 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12088 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12091 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12092 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12095 @item exclude-files
12096 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12097 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12101 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12102 ignored when handling global score files.
12105 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12106 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
12109 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12110 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12111 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12112 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12114 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12118 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12121 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12122 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12123 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12124 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12125 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12127 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12128 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12129 ordinary scoring rules.
12132 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12133 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12134 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12135 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12136 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12137 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12138 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12139 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12140 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12141 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12142 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12146 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12147 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12148 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12149 file for a number of groups.
12152 @cindex local variables
12153 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12154 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12155 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12156 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12157 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12161 @node Score File Editing
12162 @section Score File Editing
12164 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12165 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12166 with a mode for that.
12168 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12169 additional commands:
12174 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12175 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12176 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12177 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12180 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12181 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12182 Insert the current date in numerical format
12183 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12184 you were wondering.
12187 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12188 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12189 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12190 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12191 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12196 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12198 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12199 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12201 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12202 e} to begin editing score files.
12205 @node Adaptive Scoring
12206 @section Adaptive Scoring
12207 @cindex adaptive scoring
12209 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12210 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12211 stupidity, to be precise.
12213 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12214 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12215 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12216 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12217 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12218 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12219 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12220 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12221 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12223 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12224 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12225 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12226 might look something like this:
12229 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12230 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12231 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12232 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12233 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12234 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12235 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12236 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12237 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12238 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12239 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12240 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12243 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12244 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12245 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12246 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12247 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12248 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12251 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12252 will be applied to each article.
12254 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12255 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12256 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12257 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12259 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12260 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12261 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12262 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12264 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12265 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12266 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12267 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12269 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12270 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12271 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12272 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12273 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12274 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12276 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12277 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12278 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12279 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12280 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12281 aspirins afterwards.)
12283 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12284 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12285 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12287 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12288 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12289 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12291 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12292 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12293 let you use different rules in different groups.
12295 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12296 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12297 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12300 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12301 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12302 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12303 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12304 the length of the match is less than
12305 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12306 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12309 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12310 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12311 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12312 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12313 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12316 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12317 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12318 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12319 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12320 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12323 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12324 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12325 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12326 score with 30 points.
12328 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12329 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12330 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12331 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12332 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12334 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12335 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12336 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12337 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12339 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12340 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12341 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12343 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12344 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12345 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12346 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12349 @node Home Score File
12350 @section Home Score File
12352 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12353 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12354 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12355 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12357 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12358 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12359 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12361 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12362 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12367 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12371 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12372 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12376 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12380 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12381 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12384 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12385 the home score file.
12388 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12391 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12396 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12399 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12400 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12403 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12404 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12407 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12408 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12411 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12413 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12414 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12415 their own home score files:
12418 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12419 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12420 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12421 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12422 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
12425 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12426 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12427 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12428 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12429 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12431 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12432 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12433 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12434 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12435 precedence over this variable.
12438 @node Followups To Yourself
12439 @section Followups To Yourself
12441 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12442 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12443 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12444 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12445 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12446 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12450 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12451 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12452 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12455 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12456 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12457 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12461 @vindex message-sent-hook
12462 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12463 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12465 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12466 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12470 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12471 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12474 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12475 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12480 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12484 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12485 is system-dependent.
12489 @section Scoring Tips
12490 @cindex scoring tips
12496 @cindex scoring crossposts
12497 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12498 the @code{Xref} header.
12500 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12503 @item Multiple crossposts
12504 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12505 more than, say, 3 groups:
12507 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12510 @item Matching on the body
12511 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12512 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12513 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12514 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12515 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12516 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12517 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12520 @item Marking as read
12521 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12522 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12523 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12527 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12529 @item Negated character classes
12530 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12531 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12532 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12536 @node Reverse Scoring
12537 @section Reverse Scoring
12538 @cindex reverse scoring
12540 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12541 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12542 like this in your score file:
12546 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12551 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12552 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12555 @node Global Score Files
12556 @section Global Score Files
12557 @cindex global score files
12559 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12560 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12561 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12563 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12564 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12565 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12567 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12568 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12569 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12570 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12571 files are applicable to which group.
12573 Say you want to use the score file
12574 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12575 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12578 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12579 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12580 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12583 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12584 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12585 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12586 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12587 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12589 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12590 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12592 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12593 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12594 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12595 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12596 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12597 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12599 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12605 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12607 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12609 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12611 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12612 lowered out of existence.
12614 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12615 articles completely.
12618 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12619 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12620 old articles for a long time.
12623 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12624 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12625 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12626 holding our breath yet?
12630 @section Kill Files
12633 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12634 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12635 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12637 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12638 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12639 files into score files.
12641 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12642 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12643 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12644 that isn't a very good idea.
12646 Normal kill files look like this:
12649 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12650 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12654 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12655 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12657 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12658 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
12661 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
12666 @kindex M-k (Summary)
12667 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
12668 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
12671 @kindex M-K (Summary)
12672 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
12673 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
12676 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
12681 @kindex M-k (Group)
12682 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
12683 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
12686 @kindex M-K (Group)
12687 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
12688 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
12691 Kill file variables:
12694 @item gnus-kill-file-name
12695 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
12696 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
12697 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
12698 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
12699 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
12700 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
12702 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12703 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
12704 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
12705 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
12708 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
12709 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
12710 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
12711 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
12712 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
12713 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
12714 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
12715 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
12716 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
12718 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12719 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
12720 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
12725 @node Converting Kill Files
12726 @section Converting Kill Files
12728 @cindex converting kill files
12730 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
12731 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
12732 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
12735 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
12736 You can fetch it from
12737 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
12739 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
12740 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
12741 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
12749 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
12750 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
12751 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
12753 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
12754 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
12755 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
12756 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
12757 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
12758 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
12759 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
12760 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
12764 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
12765 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
12766 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
12767 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
12771 @node Using GroupLens
12772 @subsection Using GroupLens
12774 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
12776 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
12777 better bit in town at the moment.
12779 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
12783 @item gnus-use-grouplens
12784 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
12785 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
12786 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
12788 @item grouplens-pseudonym
12789 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
12790 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
12791 with the Better Bit Bureau.
12793 @item grouplens-newsgroups
12794 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
12795 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
12799 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
12800 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
12801 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
12802 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
12803 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
12804 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
12807 @node Rating Articles
12808 @subsection Rating Articles
12810 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
12811 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
12812 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
12813 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
12816 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
12821 @kindex r (GroupLens)
12822 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
12823 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
12826 @kindex k (GroupLens)
12827 @findex grouplens-score-thread
12828 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
12829 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
12830 threads in rec.humor.
12834 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
12835 the score of the article you're reading.
12840 @kindex n (GroupLens)
12841 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
12842 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
12845 @kindex , (GroupLens)
12846 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
12847 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
12851 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
12852 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
12855 @node Displaying Predictions
12856 @subsection Displaying Predictions
12858 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
12859 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
12860 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
12861 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
12862 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
12864 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
12865 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
12866 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
12867 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
12868 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
12869 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
12870 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
12871 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
12872 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
12873 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
12874 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
12875 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
12876 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
12878 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
12879 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
12880 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
12881 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
12883 The following are valid values for that variable.
12886 @item prediction-spot
12887 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
12890 @item confidence-interval
12891 A numeric confidence interval.
12893 @item prediction-bar
12894 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
12896 @item confidence-bar
12897 Numerical confidence.
12899 @item confidence-spot
12900 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
12902 @item prediction-num
12903 Plain-old numeric value.
12905 @item confidence-plus-minus
12906 Prediction +/- confidence.
12911 @node GroupLens Variables
12912 @subsection GroupLens Variables
12916 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
12917 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
12918 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
12919 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
12922 @item grouplens-bbb-host
12923 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
12926 @item grouplens-bbb-port
12927 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
12929 @item grouplens-score-offset
12930 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
12931 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
12934 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
12935 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
12936 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
12941 @node Advanced Scoring
12942 @section Advanced Scoring
12944 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
12945 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
12946 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
12947 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
12948 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
12950 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
12954 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
12955 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
12956 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
12960 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
12961 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
12963 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
12964 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
12965 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
12966 non-@code{nil} value.
12968 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
12969 operator, and various match operators.
12976 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
12977 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
12978 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
12983 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
12984 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
12985 then this operator will return @code{false}.
12990 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
12991 logical negation of the value of its argument.
12995 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
12996 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
12997 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
12998 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
12999 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13000 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13001 the ancestry you want to go.
13003 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13004 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13005 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13006 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13007 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13010 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13011 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13013 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13014 when he's talking about Gnus:
13018 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13019 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13025 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13029 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13036 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13037 really don't want to read what he's written:
13041 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13042 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13046 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13047 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13048 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13055 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13056 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13057 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13058 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13062 The possibilities are endless.
13065 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13066 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13068 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13069 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13070 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13071 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13072 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13073 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13074 @samp{subject}) first.
13076 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13077 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13088 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13089 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13095 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13102 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13103 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13108 @section Score Decays
13109 @cindex score decays
13112 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13113 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13114 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13115 use them in any sensible way.
13117 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13118 @findex gnus-decay-score
13119 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13120 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13121 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13122 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13123 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13124 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13125 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13126 definition of that function:
13129 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13130 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13133 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13135 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13137 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13140 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13141 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13142 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13143 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13147 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13150 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13153 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13157 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13158 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13159 the new score, which should be an integer.
13161 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13162 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13169 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13170 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13171 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13172 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13173 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13174 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13175 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13176 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13177 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13178 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13179 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13180 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13181 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13182 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13183 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13184 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolited commercial email.
13185 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13189 @node Process/Prefix
13190 @section Process/Prefix
13191 @cindex process/prefix convention
13193 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13194 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13196 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13197 command to be performed on.
13201 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13202 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13203 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13204 with the current one.
13206 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13207 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13208 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13210 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13211 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13214 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13215 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13217 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13220 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13221 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13222 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13223 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13225 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13226 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13227 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13228 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13229 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13230 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13231 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13232 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13236 @section Interactive
13237 @cindex interaction
13241 @item gnus-novice-user
13242 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13243 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13244 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13245 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13246 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13249 @item gnus-expert-user
13250 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13251 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
13252 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13253 matter how strange.
13255 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13256 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13257 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13258 is @code{t} by default.
13260 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13261 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13262 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13267 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13268 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13269 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13271 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13272 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four charaters forward, and
13273 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13274 rule of 900 to the current article.
13276 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13277 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13278 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13279 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13280 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13281 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13282 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13284 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13285 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13286 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13287 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13288 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13289 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13290 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13291 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13292 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13294 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13295 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13296 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13298 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13302 @node Formatting Variables
13303 @section Formatting Variables
13304 @cindex formatting variables
13306 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13307 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13308 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13309 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13312 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13313 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13314 lots of percentages everywhere.
13317 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13318 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13319 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13320 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13323 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13324 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13325 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13326 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13327 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13328 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13329 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13330 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13332 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13333 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13335 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13336 @findex gnus-update-format
13337 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13338 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13339 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13340 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13344 @node Formatting Basics
13345 @subsection Formatting Basics
13347 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13348 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13349 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13351 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13352 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13353 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13354 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13355 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13358 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13359 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13360 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13361 less than 4 characters wide.
13364 @node Advanced Formatting
13365 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13367 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13368 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13369 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13370 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13372 These are the valid modifiers:
13377 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13381 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13386 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13389 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13394 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13397 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13400 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13403 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13407 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13408 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13409 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13410 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13411 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13412 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13413 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13415 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13416 last operation, padding.
13418 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13419 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13420 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13421 @xref{Compilation}.
13424 @node User-Defined Specs
13425 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13427 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13428 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13429 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13430 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13431 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13432 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13433 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13434 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13435 should protect against that.
13437 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13438 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13439 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13440 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13444 @node Formatting Fonts
13445 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13447 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13448 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13449 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13450 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13453 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13454 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13455 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13456 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13457 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13458 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13460 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13463 ;; Create three face types.
13464 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13465 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13467 ;; We want the article count to be in
13468 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13469 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13470 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13472 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13473 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13475 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13476 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13477 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13480 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13481 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13483 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13484 mode-line variables.
13487 @node Windows Configuration
13488 @section Windows Configuration
13489 @cindex windows configuration
13491 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13493 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13494 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13495 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13496 @code{t} by default.
13498 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13499 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13500 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13503 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13504 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13505 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13509 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13510 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13511 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13512 possible names is listed below.
13514 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13515 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13518 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13522 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13523 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13524 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13525 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13526 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13527 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13528 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13529 size spec per split.
13531 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13534 Here's a more complicated example:
13537 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13538 (summary 0.25 point)
13539 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13543 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13544 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13545 occupy, not a percentage.
13547 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13548 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13549 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13550 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13551 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13554 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13557 (article (horizontal 1.0
13562 (summary 0.25 point)
13567 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13568 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13570 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13571 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13572 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13573 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13574 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13576 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13577 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13578 lines from the splits.
13580 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13584 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13585 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13586 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13587 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13588 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
13589 size = number | frame-params
13590 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13593 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13594 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13595 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13596 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13598 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13599 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13600 @cindex window height
13601 @cindex window width
13602 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13603 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13604 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13605 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13606 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13607 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13609 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13610 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13611 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13612 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13614 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13615 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13616 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13617 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13618 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13619 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13620 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13621 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13622 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13623 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13624 configuration list.
13627 (gnus-configure-frame
13631 (article 0.3 point))
13639 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13640 @code{frame} split:
13643 (gnus-configure-frame
13646 (summary 0.25 point)
13648 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13649 (user-position . t)
13650 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13655 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13656 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
13657 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
13658 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
13659 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
13660 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
13661 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
13662 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
13665 Here's a list of all possible keys for
13666 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
13668 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
13669 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
13670 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
13671 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
13672 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
13673 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
13675 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
13676 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
13677 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
13681 (message (horizontal 1.0
13682 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
13684 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
13689 @findex gnus-add-configuration
13690 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
13691 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
13692 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
13693 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
13696 (gnus-add-configuration
13697 '(article (vertical 1.0
13699 (summary .25 point)
13703 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
13704 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
13705 Gnus has been loaded.
13707 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
13708 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
13709 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
13710 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
13711 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
13715 @section Compilation
13716 @cindex compilation
13717 @cindex byte-compilation
13719 @findex gnus-compile
13721 Remember all those line format specification variables?
13722 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
13723 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
13724 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
13725 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
13726 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
13729 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
13730 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
13731 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
13732 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
13733 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
13734 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
13735 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
13739 @section Mode Lines
13742 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
13743 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
13744 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
13745 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
13746 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
13747 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
13748 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
13751 @cindex display-time
13753 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
13754 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
13755 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
13756 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
13757 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
13758 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
13759 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
13760 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
13763 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
13765 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
13766 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
13768 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
13769 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
13770 (length display-time-string)))))
13773 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
13774 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
13775 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
13776 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
13777 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
13780 @node Highlighting and Menus
13781 @section Highlighting and Menus
13783 @cindex highlighting
13786 @vindex gnus-visual
13787 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
13788 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
13789 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
13792 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
13793 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
13796 @item group-highlight
13797 Do highlights in the group buffer.
13798 @item summary-highlight
13799 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
13800 @item article-highlight
13801 Do highlights in the article buffer.
13803 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
13805 Create menus in the group buffer.
13807 Create menus in the summary buffers.
13809 Create menus in the article buffer.
13811 Create menus in the browse buffer.
13813 Create menus in the server buffer.
13815 Create menus in the score buffers.
13817 Create menus in all buffers.
13820 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
13821 buffers, you could say something like:
13824 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
13827 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
13830 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
13833 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
13834 in all Gnus buffers.
13836 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
13839 @item gnus-mouse-face
13840 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
13841 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
13842 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
13846 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
13850 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
13851 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
13852 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
13854 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
13855 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
13856 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
13858 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
13859 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
13860 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
13862 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
13863 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
13864 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
13866 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
13867 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
13868 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
13870 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
13871 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
13872 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
13883 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
13884 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
13885 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
13886 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
13887 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
13891 @vindex gnus-carpal
13892 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
13893 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
13894 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
13899 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
13900 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
13901 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
13903 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
13904 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
13905 Face used on buttons.
13907 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
13908 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
13909 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
13911 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
13912 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
13913 Buttons in the group buffer.
13915 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
13916 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
13917 Buttons in the summary buffer.
13919 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
13920 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
13921 Buttons in the server buffer.
13923 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
13924 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
13925 Buttons in the browse buffer.
13928 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
13929 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
13930 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
13938 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
13939 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
13940 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
13941 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
13942 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
13944 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
13945 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
13946 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
13948 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
13949 been idle for thirty minutes:
13952 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
13955 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
13959 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
13962 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
13963 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
13964 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
13966 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
13967 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
13968 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
13969 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
13971 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
13972 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
13973 @var{idle} minutes.
13975 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
13976 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
13979 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
13980 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
13981 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
13983 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
13984 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
13985 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
13986 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
13988 @vindex gnus-use-demon
13989 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
13990 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
13992 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
13993 your @file{.gnus} file:
13995 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
13997 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14000 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14001 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14002 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14003 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14004 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14005 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14006 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14007 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14008 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14009 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14010 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14012 @findex gnus-demon-init
14013 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14014 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14015 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14016 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14017 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14019 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
14020 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14021 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14030 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14031 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14033 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14034 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14035 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14036 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14039 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14040 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14041 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14042 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14044 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14045 this will make spam disappear.
14047 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14050 @item gnus-use-nocem
14051 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14052 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14055 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14056 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14057 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14058 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14059 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14061 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14062 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14063 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14064 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14065 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14066 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14067 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14069 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14072 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14073 @cindex Chris Lewis
14074 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14075 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14078 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14079 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14080 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14082 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14084 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14087 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14088 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14089 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14092 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14093 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14094 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14095 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14096 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14097 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14098 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14099 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14100 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14101 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14103 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14104 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14107 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14110 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14111 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14114 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14117 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14120 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14121 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14123 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14124 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14125 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14126 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14128 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14129 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14132 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14134 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14142 This might be dangerous, though.
14144 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14145 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14146 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14147 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14149 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14150 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14151 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14152 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14153 might then see old spam.
14157 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14158 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14159 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14160 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14167 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14168 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14169 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14171 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14172 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14173 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14174 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14175 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14176 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14177 @code{undo} function.
14179 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14180 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14181 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14182 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14183 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14184 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14185 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14186 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14187 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14188 never be totally undoable.
14190 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14191 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14193 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14194 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14195 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14196 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14201 @section Moderation
14204 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14205 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14206 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14209 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14213 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14216 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14218 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14223 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14224 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14225 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14228 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14229 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14232 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14233 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14237 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14240 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14241 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14245 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14246 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14249 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14253 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14254 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14255 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14256 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14265 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-att.ps}
14266 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-berkeley.ps}
14267 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-caltech.ps}
14268 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-canada.ps}
14269 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-cr.ps}
14270 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-cygnus.ps}
14271 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-gov.ps}
14272 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-mit.ps}
14273 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-nasa.ps}
14274 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-qmw.ps}
14275 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-rms.ps}
14276 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-ruu.ps}
14280 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14281 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14282 over your shoulder as you read news.
14285 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14286 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14287 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14288 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14289 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14294 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14296 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14299 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14300 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14301 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14302 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14303 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14304 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14305 @code{GIF} formats.
14308 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
14309 your Web browser at
14310 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
14312 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14313 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14314 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14317 @node Picon Requirements
14318 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14320 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14321 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14324 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
14326 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14327 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
14328 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14329 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14333 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14335 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14336 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14339 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14340 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14341 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
14342 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14347 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14349 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14350 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14351 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14352 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14353 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
14357 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14358 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14359 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14360 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14361 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14362 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14363 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14364 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14370 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-seuu.ps}
14371 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-stanford.ps}
14372 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-sun.ps}
14373 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-ubc.ps}
14374 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-ufl.ps}
14375 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-uio.ps}
14376 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-unit.ps}
14377 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-upenn.ps}
14378 \gnuspicon{tmp/picons-wesleyan.ps}
14382 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14383 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14385 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
14386 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
14387 displayed at the right time.
14389 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14390 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14392 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14393 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14394 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14395 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14396 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14398 @item gnus-group-display-picons
14399 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14400 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
14401 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
14402 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
14403 is set to @code{article}.
14405 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14406 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14407 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14408 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14412 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14413 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14416 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14420 @node Picon Configuration
14421 @subsubsection Picon Configuration
14423 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14424 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14425 don't need to worry about.
14428 @item gnus-picons-database
14429 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14430 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14431 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14432 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
14434 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
14435 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
14436 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
14439 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14440 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14441 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14442 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14444 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14445 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14446 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14447 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14448 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
14450 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14451 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14452 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14453 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14454 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14455 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14457 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14458 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14459 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14460 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14462 @item gnus-picons-buffer
14463 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
14464 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
14465 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
14470 @subsection Smileys
14473 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14474 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14476 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14477 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14480 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14483 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14484 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14485 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14486 text and maps that to file names.
14488 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14489 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14490 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14491 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14492 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14493 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14495 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14496 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14498 Here's the default value of @code{smiley-smiley-regexp-alist}:
14501 (setq smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14502 '(("\\(:-+[<«]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceAngry.xpm")
14503 ("\\(:-+\\]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceGoofy.xpm")
14504 ("\\(:-+D\\)\\W" 1 "FaceGrinning.xpm")
14505 ("\\(:-+[@}»]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceHappy.xpm")
14506 ("\\(:-*)+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceHappy.xpm")
14507 ("\\(:-+[/\\\"]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceIronic.xpm")
14508 ("\\([8|]-+[|Oo%]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceKOed.xpm")
14509 ("\\([:|]-+#+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceNyah.xpm")
14510 ("\\(:-+[(@{]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceSad.xpm")
14511 ("\\(:-+[Oo\*]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceStartled.xpm")
14512 ("\\(:-+|\\)\\W" 1 "FaceStraight.xpm")
14513 ("\\(:-+p\\)\\W" 1 "FaceTalking.xpm")
14514 ("\\(:-+d\\)\\W" 1 "FaceTasty.xpm")
14515 ("\\(;-+[>)@}»]+\\)\\W" 1 "FaceWinking.xpm")
14516 ("\\(:-+[Vvµ]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceWry.xpm")
14517 ("\\(][:8B]-[)>]\\)\\W" 1 "FaceDevilish.xpm")
14518 ("\\([:|]-+P\\)\\W" 1 "FaceYukky.xpm")))
14521 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14522 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14523 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14525 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14526 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14530 @item smiley-data-directory
14531 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14532 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14534 @item smiley-flesh-color
14535 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14536 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14538 @item smiley-features-color
14539 @vindex smiley-features-color
14540 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14542 @item smiley-tongue-color
14543 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14544 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14546 @item smiley-circle-color
14547 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14548 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14550 @item smiley-mouse-face
14551 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14552 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14558 @subsection Toolbar
14562 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14563 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14564 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14565 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14566 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14568 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14569 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14570 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14572 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14573 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14574 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14576 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14577 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14578 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14584 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14587 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14588 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14589 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14590 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14591 unusual directory structure.
14593 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14594 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14595 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14596 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
14598 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14599 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
14600 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
14601 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
14602 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
14603 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
14605 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14606 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
14607 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
14615 @node Fuzzy Matching
14616 @section Fuzzy Matching
14617 @cindex fuzzy matching
14619 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
14620 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
14622 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
14623 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
14624 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
14626 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
14627 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
14628 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
14629 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
14630 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
14633 @node Thwarting Email Spam
14634 @section Thwarting Email Spam
14638 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
14640 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
14641 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
14642 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
14643 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
14644 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
14645 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
14646 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
14647 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
14650 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
14651 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
14652 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
14653 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
14654 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrouos hair on your toes!'')
14655 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
14659 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
14660 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
14662 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
14663 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
14664 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
14665 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
14666 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
14667 part of the mail address.)
14670 (setq message-default-news-headers
14671 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
14674 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14675 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
14680 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
14681 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
14682 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
14688 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
14689 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
14690 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
14691 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
14693 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
14694 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
14695 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
14696 twarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
14697 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
14698 your fancy split rule in this way:
14703 (to "larsi" "misc")
14707 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
14708 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
14709 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
14710 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
14711 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
14713 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
14714 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, availiable FOR FREE
14715 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
14716 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
14717 cosmic balance somewhat.
14719 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
14720 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
14721 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
14722 to non-existant domains is yucky, in my opinion.
14725 @node Various Various
14726 @section Various Various
14732 @item gnus-home-directory
14733 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
14734 defaults to @file{~/}.
14736 @item gnus-directory
14737 @vindex gnus-directory
14738 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
14739 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
14740 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
14742 @item gnus-default-directory
14743 @vindex gnus-default-directory
14744 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
14745 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
14746 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
14747 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14748 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
14749 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
14752 @vindex gnus-verbose
14753 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
14754 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
14755 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
14756 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
14757 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
14759 @item gnus-verbose-backends
14760 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
14761 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
14762 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
14764 @item nnheader-max-head-length
14765 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
14766 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
14767 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
14768 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
14769 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
14770 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
14771 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
14772 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
14773 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
14775 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
14776 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
14777 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
14778 read when doing the operation described above.
14780 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14781 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14783 @cindex invalid characters in file names
14784 @cindex characters in file names
14785 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
14786 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
14787 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
14790 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
14794 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
14795 Windows (phooey) systems.
14797 @item gnus-hidden-properties
14798 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
14799 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
14800 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
14801 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
14803 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
14804 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
14805 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
14806 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
14807 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
14809 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
14810 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
14811 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
14820 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
14821 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
14823 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
14825 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
14831 Not because of victories @*
14834 but for the common sunshine,@*
14836 the largess of the spring.
14840 but for the day's work done@*
14841 as well as I was able;@*
14842 not for a seat upon the dais@*
14843 but at the common table.@*
14848 @chapter Appendices
14851 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
14852 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
14853 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
14854 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
14855 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
14856 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
14857 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
14865 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
14866 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
14868 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
14869 can point your (feh!) web browser to
14870 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
14871 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
14872 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
14874 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
14875 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
14876 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
14877 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
14878 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
14879 appropriate name, don't you think?)
14881 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
14882 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
14883 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
14884 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
14886 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
14887 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
14888 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
14890 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
14891 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
14893 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
14894 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
14896 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
14897 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
14898 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
14899 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
14900 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
14904 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
14905 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
14906 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
14907 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
14908 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
14909 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
14910 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
14917 What's the point of Gnus?
14919 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
14920 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
14921 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
14922 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
14923 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
14924 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
14925 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
14926 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
14927 keep track of millions of people who post?
14929 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
14930 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
14931 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
14932 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
14933 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
14934 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
14935 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
14936 every one of you to explore and invent.
14938 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
14939 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
14942 @node Compatibility
14943 @subsection Compatibility
14945 @cindex compatibility
14946 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
14947 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
14948 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
14953 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
14957 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
14960 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
14963 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
14964 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
14965 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
14966 important variables have their values copied into their global
14967 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
14968 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
14970 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
14971 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
14972 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
14973 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
14974 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
14978 @cindex highlighting
14979 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
14980 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
14981 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
14982 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
14983 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
14984 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
14987 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
14988 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
14989 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
14990 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
14992 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
14993 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
14994 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
14995 to stop doing it the old way.
14997 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
14999 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15001 @cindex reporting bugs
15003 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15004 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15005 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15009 @subsection Conformity
15011 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15012 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15019 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15023 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15025 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
15026 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
15027 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
15028 the next inspection.
15030 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15031 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15032 We do have some breaches to this one.
15037 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15038 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15041 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15042 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15043 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15044 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15045 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15050 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15051 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15056 @subsection Emacsen
15062 Gnus should work on :
15067 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15070 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15073 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15077 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15078 reliably, at least.
15080 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15081 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15082 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15087 @subsection Contributors
15088 @cindex contributors
15090 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15091 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15092 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15093 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15094 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15095 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15096 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15097 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15098 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15099 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15101 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15107 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15110 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15111 well as numerous other things).
15114 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15117 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15120 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15121 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15124 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15127 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15128 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15131 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15134 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15137 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15140 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15143 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15144 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15147 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15150 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15153 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15156 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15160 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15163 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15166 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15169 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
15173 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15174 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15176 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15185 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15189 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15206 Massimo Campostrini,
15211 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15216 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15221 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15226 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15228 Michelangelo Grigni,
15232 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15236 François Felix Ingrand,
15237 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15245 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15246 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15247 Thor Kristoffersen,
15262 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15263 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15269 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15274 John McClary Prevost,
15283 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15284 Randal L. Schwartz,
15302 Enami Tsugutomo, @c ?
15309 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
15311 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15312 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15313 (550kB and counting).
15315 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15318 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15319 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15323 @subsection New Features
15324 @cindex new features
15327 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15328 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15329 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15332 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15333 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15334 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15338 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15340 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15345 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15346 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15349 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15350 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15353 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15356 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15357 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15358 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15361 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15362 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15363 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15364 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15367 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15368 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15371 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15372 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15373 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15376 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15377 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15380 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15381 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15382 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15385 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15386 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15387 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15390 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15391 the @file{.emacs} file.
15394 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15395 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15398 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15399 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15402 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15403 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15406 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15407 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15410 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15411 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15414 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15417 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15418 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15421 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15422 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15425 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15426 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15429 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15432 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15433 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15436 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15440 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15444 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15445 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15448 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15454 @node September Gnus
15455 @subsubsection September Gnus
15457 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15462 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15463 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15467 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15468 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15472 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15476 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15477 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15480 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15484 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15487 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15490 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15493 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15497 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15498 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15501 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15505 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15509 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15513 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15517 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15520 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15521 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15524 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15528 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15529 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15532 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15535 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15536 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15537 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15540 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15544 The Gnus cache is much faster.
15547 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
15551 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
15552 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15555 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
15556 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
15559 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
15560 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15563 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
15564 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
15565 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
15568 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
15569 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
15572 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
15575 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15578 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15579 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
15583 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
15586 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
15589 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
15590 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
15593 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
15597 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
15600 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
15603 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
15607 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15610 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
15614 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
15617 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
15620 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
15621 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15624 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
15625 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
15629 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
15630 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
15633 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
15637 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
15638 buffer to allow easier treatment.
15641 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
15644 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
15648 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
15652 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
15653 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
15656 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
15660 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
15661 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
15664 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
15665 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15668 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
15672 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
15675 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15676 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
15680 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
15683 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
15689 @subsubsection Red Gnus
15691 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
15696 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
15699 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
15700 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15703 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
15704 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
15708 Article washing status can be displayed in the
15709 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
15712 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
15715 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
15716 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
15719 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
15723 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
15724 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
15728 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
15729 Server Internals}).
15732 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
15736 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
15739 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
15740 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
15743 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
15744 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
15745 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
15748 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
15749 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15752 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
15753 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
15756 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
15760 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
15761 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15764 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
15765 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15768 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
15772 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
15775 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
15779 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
15780 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
15783 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
15784 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
15787 A new command for reading collections of documents
15788 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
15789 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
15792 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
15796 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
15797 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
15800 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
15801 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
15802 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
15805 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
15806 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
15810 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
15814 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
15818 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
15822 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
15826 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
15827 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
15830 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
15833 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
15839 @node Newest Features
15840 @subsection Newest Features
15843 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
15846 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
15850 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
15852 Really do unbinhexing.
15855 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
15856 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
15858 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
15859 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
15860 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
15866 @section The Manual
15870 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
15871 either @code{texi2dvi}
15873 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
15874 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
15876 to get what you hold in your hands now.
15878 The following conventions have been used:
15883 This is a @samp{string}
15886 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
15889 This is a @file{file}
15892 This is a @code{symbol}
15896 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
15900 (setq flargnoze "yes")
15903 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
15906 (setq flumphel 'yes)
15909 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
15910 ever get them confused.
15914 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
15915 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
15916 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
15917 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
15918 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
15919 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
15920 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
15928 @section Terminology
15930 @cindex terminology
15935 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
15936 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
15937 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
15938 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
15939 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
15943 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
15944 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
15945 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
15946 not posting, and replying is not following up.
15950 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
15954 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
15959 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
15960 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
15961 is all done by the backends.
15965 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
15966 default, way of getting news.
15970 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
15971 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
15976 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
15977 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
15981 A message that has been posted as news.
15984 @cindex mail message
15985 A message that has been mailed.
15989 A mail message or news article
15993 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
15998 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
16003 A line from the head of an article.
16007 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
16008 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
16012 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
16013 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
16014 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
16015 normal @sc{head} format.
16019 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
16020 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
16021 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
16022 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
16023 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
16024 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
16026 @item killed groups
16027 @cindex killed groups
16028 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
16029 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
16031 @item zombie groups
16032 @cindex zombie groups
16033 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
16036 @cindex active file
16037 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
16038 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
16039 is rather large, as you might surmise.
16042 @cindex bogus groups
16043 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
16044 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
16045 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
16049 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
16051 @item select method
16052 @cindex select method
16053 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
16056 @item virtual server
16057 @cindex virtual server
16058 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
16059 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
16060 whole is a virtual server.
16064 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
16065 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
16068 @item ephemeral groups
16069 @cindex ephemeral groups
16070 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
16071 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
16072 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
16075 @cindex solid groups
16076 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
16077 group buffer are solid groups.
16079 @item sparse articles
16080 @cindex sparse articles
16081 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
16082 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
16086 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
16087 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
16091 @cindex thread root
16092 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
16093 articles in the thread.
16097 An article that has responses.
16101 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
16105 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
16106 specified by RFC1153.
16112 @node Customization
16113 @section Customization
16114 @cindex general customization
16116 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
16117 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
16118 for some quite common situations.
16121 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
16122 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
16123 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
16124 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
16128 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
16129 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
16131 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
16132 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
16133 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
16137 @item gnus-read-active-file
16138 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
16139 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
16140 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
16141 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
16142 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
16144 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
16145 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
16146 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
16147 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
16151 @node Slow Terminal Connection
16152 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
16154 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
16155 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
16156 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
16160 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
16161 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
16162 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
16163 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
16164 horizontal and vertical recentering.
16166 @item gnus-visible-headers
16167 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
16168 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
16169 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
16170 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
16172 @item gnus-article-display-hook
16173 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
16175 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
16176 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
16177 gnus-article-hide-citation))
16180 @item gnus-use-full-window
16181 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
16182 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
16183 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
16184 want to read them anyway.
16186 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
16187 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
16190 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
16191 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
16192 lines, which might save some time.
16196 @node Little Disk Space
16197 @subsection Little Disk Space
16200 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
16201 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
16205 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
16206 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
16207 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
16208 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16211 @item gnus-save-killed-list
16212 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
16213 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
16214 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
16215 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
16221 @subsection Slow Machine
16222 @cindex slow machine
16224 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
16225 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
16227 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
16228 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
16230 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
16231 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
16232 summary buffer faster.
16234 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
16235 processing a bit faster.
16239 @node Troubleshooting
16240 @section Troubleshooting
16241 @cindex troubleshooting
16243 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
16251 Make sure your computer is switched on.
16254 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
16255 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
16259 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
16260 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
16261 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
16262 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
16265 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
16269 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
16270 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
16271 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
16272 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
16273 something like that.
16276 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
16279 @cindex reporting bugs
16281 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
16283 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
16284 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
16285 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
16286 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
16288 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
16289 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
16290 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
16291 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
16294 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
16295 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
16296 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
16297 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
16298 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
16299 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
16301 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
16302 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
16303 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
16306 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
16307 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
16309 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
16310 @cindex ding mailing list
16311 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
16312 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
16316 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
16317 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
16319 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
16320 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
16321 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
16322 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
16325 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
16326 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
16327 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
16328 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
16329 and general methods of operation.
16332 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
16333 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
16334 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
16335 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
16336 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
16337 * Group Info:: The group info format.
16338 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
16339 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
16340 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
16344 @node Gnus Utility Functions
16345 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
16346 @cindex Gnus utility functions
16347 @cindex utility functions
16349 @cindex internal variables
16351 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
16352 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
16353 Below is a list of the most common ones.
16357 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
16358 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
16359 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
16361 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
16362 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
16363 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
16365 @item gnus-group-real-name
16366 @findex gnus-group-real-name
16367 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
16370 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
16371 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
16372 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
16373 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
16375 @item gnus-get-info
16376 @findex gnus-get-info
16377 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
16379 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
16380 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
16381 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
16384 @item gnus-continuum-version
16385 @findex gnus-continuum-version
16386 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
16387 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
16390 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
16391 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
16392 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
16394 @item gnus-news-group-p
16395 @findex gnus-news-group-p
16396 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
16398 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
16399 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
16400 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
16402 @item gnus-server-to-method
16403 @findex gnus-server-to-method
16404 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
16406 @item gnus-server-equal
16407 @findex gnus-server-equal
16408 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
16410 @item gnus-group-native-p
16411 @findex gnus-group-native-p
16412 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
16414 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
16415 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
16416 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
16418 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
16419 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
16420 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
16422 @item group-group-find-parameter
16423 @findex group-group-find-parameter
16424 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
16425 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
16427 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
16428 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
16429 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
16431 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
16432 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
16433 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
16435 @item gnus-check-backend-function
16436 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
16437 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
16438 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
16441 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
16445 @item gnus-read-method
16446 @findex gnus-read-method
16447 Prompts the user for a select method.
16452 @node Backend Interface
16453 @subsection Backend Interface
16455 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
16456 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
16457 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
16458 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
16459 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
16460 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
16462 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
16463 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
16464 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
16465 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
16466 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
16467 been opened, the function should fail.
16469 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
16470 name. Take this example:
16474 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
16475 (nntp-port-number 4324))
16478 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
16479 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
16481 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
16482 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
16483 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
16485 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
16486 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
16487 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
16489 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
16490 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
16491 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
16492 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
16493 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
16494 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
16497 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
16498 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
16499 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
16500 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
16503 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
16506 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
16509 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
16510 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
16511 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
16512 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
16513 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
16514 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
16518 @node Required Backend Functions
16519 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
16523 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
16525 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
16526 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
16527 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
16528 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
16530 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
16531 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
16532 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
16533 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
16535 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
16536 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
16537 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
16538 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
16539 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
16540 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
16541 number, do maximum fetches.
16543 Here's an example HEAD:
16546 221 1056 Article retrieved.
16547 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
16548 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
16549 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
16550 Subject: Re: Something very droll
16551 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
16552 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
16554 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
16555 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
16556 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
16560 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
16561 these in the data buffer.
16563 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
16567 head = error / valid-head
16568 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
16569 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
16570 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
16571 header = <text> eol
16574 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
16575 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
16579 nov-buffer = *nov-line
16580 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
16581 field = <text except TAB>
16584 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
16588 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
16590 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
16591 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
16593 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
16594 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
16595 server. In fact, it should do so.
16597 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
16598 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
16601 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
16603 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
16604 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
16607 There should be no data returned.
16610 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
16612 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
16613 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
16614 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
16615 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
16617 There should be no data returned.
16620 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
16622 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
16623 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
16624 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
16625 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
16627 There should be no data returned.
16630 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
16632 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
16634 There should be no data returned.
16637 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
16639 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
16640 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
16641 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
16642 it would be nice if that were possible.
16644 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
16645 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
16646 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
16647 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
16648 into its article buffer.
16650 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
16651 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
16652 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
16653 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
16654 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
16655 on successful article retrieval.
16658 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
16660 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
16661 making @var{group} the current group.
16663 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
16666 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
16669 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
16672 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
16673 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
16674 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
16675 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
16676 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
16677 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
16678 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
16679 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
16682 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
16683 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
16684 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
16688 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
16690 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
16691 a no-op on most backends.
16693 There should be no data returned.
16696 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
16698 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
16701 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
16704 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
16705 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
16708 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
16709 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
16712 active-file = *active-line
16713 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
16715 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
16718 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
16719 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
16720 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
16723 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
16725 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
16726 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
16727 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
16728 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
16729 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
16730 clear if the posting could not be completed.
16732 There should be no result data from this function.
16737 @node Optional Backend Functions
16738 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
16742 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
16744 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
16745 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
16746 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
16748 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
16749 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
16750 former is in the same format as the data from
16751 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
16752 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
16755 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
16759 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
16761 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
16762 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
16763 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
16764 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
16765 should return the (altered) group info.
16767 There should be no result data from this function.
16770 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
16772 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
16773 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
16774 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
16775 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
16776 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
16777 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
16778 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
16779 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
16781 There should be no result data from this function.
16784 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
16786 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
16787 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
16788 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
16789 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
16790 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
16792 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
16793 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
16794 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
16797 There should be no result data from this function.
16800 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
16802 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
16803 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
16804 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
16805 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
16806 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
16807 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
16808 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
16810 There should be no result data from this function.
16813 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
16815 The result data from this function should be a description of
16819 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
16821 description = <text>
16824 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
16826 The result data from this function should be the description of all
16827 groups available on the server.
16830 description-buffer = *description-line
16834 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
16836 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
16837 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
16838 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
16841 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
16843 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
16845 There should be no return data.
16848 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
16850 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
16851 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
16852 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
16853 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
16854 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
16857 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
16860 There should be no result data returned.
16863 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
16866 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
16867 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
16869 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
16870 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
16871 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
16872 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
16873 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
16874 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
16876 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
16877 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
16880 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
16881 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
16883 There should be no data returned.
16886 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
16888 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
16889 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
16890 this function in short order.
16892 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
16893 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
16895 There should be no data returned.
16898 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
16900 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
16901 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
16903 There should be no data returned.
16906 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
16908 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
16909 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
16910 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
16912 There should be no data returned.
16915 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
16917 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
16918 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
16920 There should be no data returned.
16925 @node Error Messaging
16926 @subsubsection Error Messaging
16928 @findex nnheader-report
16929 @findex nnheader-get-report
16930 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
16931 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
16932 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
16933 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
16934 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
16935 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
16938 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
16940 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
16943 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
16944 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
16945 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
16946 takes one argument---the server symbol.
16948 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
16949 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
16950 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
16953 @node Writing New Backends
16954 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
16956 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
16957 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
16958 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
16959 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
16960 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
16963 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
16964 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
16965 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
16967 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
16968 package called @code{nnoo}.
16970 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
16971 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
16977 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
16978 parameters. For instance:
16981 (nnoo-declare nndir
16985 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
16986 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
16989 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
16990 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
16991 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
16993 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
16994 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
16995 a function in those backends.
16998 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
16999 "Where nndir will look for groups."
17000 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
17003 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
17004 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
17005 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
17007 @item nnoo-define-basics
17008 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
17012 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
17016 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
17017 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
17018 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
17020 @item nnoo-map-functions
17021 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
17022 functions from the parent backends.
17025 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
17026 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
17027 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
17030 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
17031 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
17032 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
17033 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
17036 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
17037 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
17038 haven't already been defined.
17044 nnmh-request-newgroups)
17048 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
17049 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
17050 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
17055 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
17058 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
17059 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
17063 (require 'nnheader)
17067 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
17069 (nnoo-declare nndir
17072 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
17073 "Where nndir will look for groups."
17074 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
17076 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
17077 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
17080 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
17081 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
17082 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
17084 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
17085 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
17087 ;;; Interface functions.
17089 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
17091 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
17092 (setq nndir-directory
17093 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
17095 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
17096 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
17097 (push `(nndir-current-group
17098 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
17100 (push `(nndir-top-directory
17101 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
17103 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
17105 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
17106 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
17107 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
17108 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
17109 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
17113 nnmh-status-message
17115 nnmh-request-newgroups))
17121 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
17122 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
17124 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
17125 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
17126 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
17127 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
17129 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
17130 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
17135 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
17138 The abilities can be:
17142 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
17144 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
17146 This backend supports both mail and news.
17148 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
17151 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
17152 articles and groups.
17154 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
17155 true for almost all backends.
17156 @item prompt-address
17157 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
17158 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
17159 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
17163 @node Mail-like Backends
17164 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
17166 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
17167 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
17168 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
17169 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
17172 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
17173 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
17174 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
17177 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
17178 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
17181 This function takes four parameters.
17185 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
17188 @item exit-function
17189 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
17191 @item temp-directory
17192 Where the temporary files should be stored.
17195 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
17196 performed for one group only.
17199 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
17200 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
17201 find the article number assigned to this article.
17203 The function also uses the following variables:
17204 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
17205 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
17206 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
17207 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
17211 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
17212 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
17216 @node Score File Syntax
17217 @subsection Score File Syntax
17219 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
17220 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
17221 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
17223 Here's a typical score file:
17227 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
17234 BNF definition of a score file:
17237 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
17238 element = rule / atom
17239 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
17240 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
17241 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
17242 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
17244 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
17245 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
17246 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
17247 date-header = "date"
17248 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17249 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17250 score = "nil" / <integer>
17251 date = "nil" / <natural number>
17252 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
17253 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
17254 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
17255 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
17256 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17257 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17258 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
17259 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
17260 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
17261 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
17262 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
17263 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
17264 exclude-files / read-only / touched
17265 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
17266 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
17267 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
17268 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
17269 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
17270 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
17271 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
17272 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
17273 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
17274 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
17275 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
17276 eval = "eval" space <form>
17277 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
17280 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
17283 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
17284 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
17285 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
17286 one looong line, then that's ok.
17288 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
17289 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
17293 @subsection Headers
17295 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
17296 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
17297 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
17298 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
17300 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
17301 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
17302 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
17303 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
17304 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
17305 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
17306 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
17308 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
17309 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
17310 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
17311 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
17312 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
17314 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
17321 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
17322 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
17324 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
17325 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
17326 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
17327 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
17329 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
17333 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
17336 is transformed into
17339 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
17342 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
17343 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
17346 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
17349 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
17350 is slightly tricky:
17353 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
17359 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
17362 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
17368 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
17375 and is equal to the previous range.
17377 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
17378 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
17379 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
17383 range = simple-range / normal-range
17384 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
17385 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
17386 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
17387 number *[ " " contents ]
17390 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
17391 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
17392 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
17393 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
17394 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
17399 @subsection Group Info
17401 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
17402 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
17403 describes the group.
17405 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
17406 second is a more complex one:
17409 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
17411 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
17412 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
17414 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@gnus.org")))
17417 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
17418 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
17419 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
17420 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
17421 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
17422 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
17423 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
17425 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
17426 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
17427 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
17429 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
17432 info = "(" group space level space read
17433 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
17434 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
17435 group = quote <string> quote
17436 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
17438 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
17439 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
17440 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
17441 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
17444 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
17445 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
17448 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
17449 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
17452 @item gnus-info-group
17453 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
17454 @findex gnus-info-group
17455 @findex gnus-info-set-group
17456 Get/set the group name.
17458 @item gnus-info-rank
17459 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
17460 @findex gnus-info-rank
17461 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
17462 Get/set the group rank.
17464 @item gnus-info-level
17465 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
17466 @findex gnus-info-level
17467 @findex gnus-info-set-level
17468 Get/set the group level.
17470 @item gnus-info-score
17471 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
17472 @findex gnus-info-score
17473 @findex gnus-info-set-score
17474 Get/set the group score.
17476 @item gnus-info-read
17477 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
17478 @findex gnus-info-read
17479 @findex gnus-info-set-read
17480 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
17482 @item gnus-info-marks
17483 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
17484 @findex gnus-info-marks
17485 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
17486 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
17488 @item gnus-info-method
17489 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
17490 @findex gnus-info-method
17491 @findex gnus-info-set-method
17492 Get/set the group select method.
17494 @item gnus-info-params
17495 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
17496 @findex gnus-info-params
17497 @findex gnus-info-set-params
17498 Get/set the group parameters.
17501 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
17502 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
17504 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
17505 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
17506 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
17507 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
17510 @node Extended Interactive
17511 @subsection Extended Interactive
17512 @cindex interactive
17513 @findex gnus-interactive
17515 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
17516 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
17517 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
17520 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
17521 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
17526 The best thing to do would have been to implement
17527 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
17528 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
17529 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
17530 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
17531 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
17532 @code{interactive}.
17534 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
17539 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
17540 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
17544 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
17545 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
17546 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
17549 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
17553 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
17557 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
17563 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
17564 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
17568 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
17569 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
17570 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
17572 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
17573 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
17574 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
17575 Gnus, that's very useful.
17577 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
17578 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
17579 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
17580 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
17581 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
17582 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
17583 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
17584 following function:
17587 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
17591 (,function ,@@args))
17595 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
17596 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
17597 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
17600 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
17601 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
17602 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
17604 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
17605 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
17606 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
17609 @node Various File Formats
17610 @subsection Various File Formats
17613 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
17614 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
17618 @node Active File Format
17619 @subsubsection Active File Format
17621 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
17622 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
17625 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
17628 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
17629 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
17630 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
17631 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
17632 no.general 1000 900 y
17635 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
17638 active = *group-line
17639 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
17640 group = <non-white-space string>
17642 high-number = <non-negative integer>
17643 low-number = <positive integer>
17644 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
17648 @node Newsgroups File Format
17649 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
17651 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
17652 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
17653 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
17656 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
17657 Here's the definition:
17661 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
17662 group = <non-white-space string>
17664 description = <string>
17669 @node Emacs for Heathens
17670 @section Emacs for Heathens
17672 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
17673 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
17674 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
17675 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
17676 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
17677 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
17678 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
17682 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
17683 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
17688 @subsection Keystrokes
17692 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
17695 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
17698 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
17699 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
17700 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
17701 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
17702 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
17703 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
17705 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
17706 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
17707 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
17708 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
17709 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
17710 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
17711 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
17713 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
17714 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
17715 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
17716 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
17717 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
17718 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
17719 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
17721 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
17722 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
17723 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
17724 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
17725 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
17731 @subsection Emacs Lisp
17733 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
17734 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
17735 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
17736 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
17738 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
17739 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
17740 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
17741 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
17742 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
17743 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
17744 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
17747 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
17748 write the following:
17751 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
17754 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
17755 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
17756 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
17759 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
17760 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
17761 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
17762 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
17763 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
17765 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
17766 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
17767 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
17771 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
17775 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
17778 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
17779 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
17782 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
17785 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
17786 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
17789 @include gnus-faq.texi