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4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.55 Manual
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233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
240 \thispagestyle{empty}
242 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
244 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
245 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
246 are preserved on all copies.
248 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
249 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
250 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
251 permission notice identical to this one.
253 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
254 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
263 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
265 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
267 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
268 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
269 are preserved on all copies.
272 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
273 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
274 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
275 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
278 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
279 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
280 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
281 permission notice identical to this one.
283 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
284 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
290 @title Red Gnus 0.55 Manual
292 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
295 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
296 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
302 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
303 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
304 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
305 permission notice identical to this one.
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
308 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
317 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
321 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
322 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
323 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
335 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
336 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
338 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
339 being accused of plagiarism:
341 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
342 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
343 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
344 even read news with it!
346 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
347 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
348 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
349 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
350 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
357 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
358 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
359 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
360 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
361 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
362 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
363 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
364 * Various:: General purpose settings.
365 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
366 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
367 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
368 * Key Index:: Key Index.
372 @chapter Starting Gnus
377 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
378 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
381 @findex gnus-other-frame
382 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
383 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
384 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
386 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
390 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
391 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
392 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
393 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
394 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
395 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
396 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
397 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
398 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
399 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
400 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
404 @node Finding the News
405 @section Finding the News
408 @vindex gnus-select-method
410 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
411 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
412 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
413 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
416 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
417 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
420 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
423 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
426 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
429 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
430 certainly be much faster.
432 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
434 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
435 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
436 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
437 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
438 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
439 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
440 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
442 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
443 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
444 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
445 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
447 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
448 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
449 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
450 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
451 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
452 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
454 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
456 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
457 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
458 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
459 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
460 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
461 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
463 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
465 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
466 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
467 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
468 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
469 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
470 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
473 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
474 would typically set this variable to
477 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
482 @section The First Time
483 @cindex first time usage
485 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
486 be subscribed by default.
488 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
489 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
490 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
491 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
494 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
495 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
496 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
498 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
499 help you with most common problems.
501 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
502 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
506 @node The Server is Down
507 @section The Server is Down
508 @cindex server errors
510 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
511 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
512 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
514 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
515 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
516 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
517 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
518 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
519 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
520 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
522 @findex gnus-no-server
523 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
525 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
526 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
527 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
528 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
529 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
530 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
535 @section Slave Gnusae
538 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
539 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
540 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
541 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
543 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
546 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
547 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
548 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
549 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
550 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
551 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
552 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
554 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
555 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
556 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
557 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
558 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
559 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
560 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
561 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
563 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
564 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
567 @node Fetching a Group
568 @section Fetching a Group
569 @cindex fetching a group
571 @findex gnus-fetch-group
572 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
573 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
574 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
575 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
576 It takes the group name as a parameter.
584 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
585 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
586 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
587 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
588 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
589 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
590 is @code{t} by default.
593 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
594 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
595 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
599 @node Checking New Groups
600 @subsection Checking New Groups
602 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
603 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
604 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
605 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
606 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
607 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
608 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
609 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
610 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
611 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
613 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
614 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
615 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
616 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
617 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
618 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
619 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
620 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
621 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
622 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
623 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
625 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
626 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
627 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
628 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
629 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
630 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
633 @node Subscription Methods
634 @subsection Subscription Methods
636 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
637 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
638 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
640 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
645 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
646 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
647 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
648 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
649 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
651 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
652 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
653 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
655 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
656 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
657 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
659 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
660 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
661 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
662 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
663 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
664 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
665 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
666 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
667 up. Or something like that.
669 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
670 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
671 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
672 you about @strong{all} new groups.
674 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
675 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
681 A closely related variable is
682 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
683 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
684 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
685 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
688 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
689 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
690 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
693 @node Filtering New Groups
694 @subsection Filtering New Groups
696 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
697 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
698 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
701 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
704 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
705 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
706 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
707 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
708 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
709 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
710 subscribing these groups.
711 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
712 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
714 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
715 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
716 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
717 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
718 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
719 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
720 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
721 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
723 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
724 Yet another variable that meddles here is
725 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
726 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
727 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
728 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
729 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
730 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
731 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
732 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
735 @node Changing Servers
736 @section Changing Servers
737 @cindex changing servers
739 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
740 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
741 very flaky and you want to use another.
743 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
744 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
748 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
749 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
750 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
751 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
754 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
755 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
756 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
757 functions more than absolutely necessary.
759 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
760 @findex gnus-change-server
761 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
762 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
763 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
764 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
765 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
767 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
768 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
769 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
770 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
771 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
773 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
774 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
775 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
776 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
777 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
778 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
782 @section Startup Files
783 @cindex startup files
788 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
789 information is traditionally stored in this file.
791 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
792 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
793 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
794 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
795 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
796 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
797 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
799 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
800 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
801 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
802 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
804 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
805 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
806 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
807 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
808 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
809 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
811 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
812 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
813 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
814 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
815 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
816 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
817 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
818 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
819 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
820 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
821 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
822 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
824 @vindex gnus-startup-file
825 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
826 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
827 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
829 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
830 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
831 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
832 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
833 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
834 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
835 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
836 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
837 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
838 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
841 (defun turn-off-backup ()
842 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
844 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
845 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
848 @vindex gnus-init-file
849 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
850 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
851 (@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
852 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
853 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
861 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
862 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
863 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
864 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
865 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
868 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
869 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
872 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
873 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
874 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
876 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
877 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
878 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
879 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
880 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
881 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
884 @node The Active File
885 @section The Active File
887 @cindex ignored groups
889 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
890 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
891 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
893 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
894 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
895 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
896 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
897 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
898 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
899 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
902 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
903 @c if you set it to anything else.
905 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
907 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
908 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
909 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
911 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
912 you actually subscribe to.
914 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
915 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
916 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
917 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
919 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
920 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
921 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
922 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
923 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
924 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
926 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
927 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
928 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
929 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
930 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
931 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
933 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
934 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
937 @node Startup Variables
938 @section Startup Variables
943 @vindex gnus-load-hook
944 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
945 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
946 times you start Gnus.
948 @item gnus-startup-hook
949 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
950 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
952 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
953 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
954 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
955 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
956 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
957 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
958 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
959 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
961 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
962 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
963 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
964 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
965 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
966 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
968 @item gnus-no-groups-message
969 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
970 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
972 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
973 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
974 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
976 @item gnus-startup-jingle
977 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
978 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
979 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
984 @node The Group Buffer
985 @chapter The Group Buffer
988 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
989 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
990 long as Gnus is active.
993 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
994 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
995 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
996 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
997 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
998 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
999 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1000 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1001 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1002 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1003 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1004 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1005 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1006 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1007 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1008 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1009 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1013 @node Group Buffer Format
1014 @section Group Buffer Format
1017 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1018 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1019 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1023 @node Group Line Specification
1024 @subsection Group Line Specification
1025 @cindex group buffer format
1027 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1028 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1030 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1033 25: news.announce.newusers
1034 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1039 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1040 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1041 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1042 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1044 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1045 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1046 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1047 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1048 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1049 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1051 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1053 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1054 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1055 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1056 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1059 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1060 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1061 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1063 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1068 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1071 Whether the group is subscribed.
1074 Level of subscribedness.
1077 Number of unread articles.
1080 Number of dormant articles.
1083 Number of ticked articles.
1086 Number of read articles.
1089 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1090 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1093 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1096 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1105 Newsgroup description.
1108 @samp{m} if moderated.
1111 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1120 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1124 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1127 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1128 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1129 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1130 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1131 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1134 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1136 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1140 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1144 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1145 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1146 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1147 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1148 paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1149 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1154 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1155 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1156 group, or a bogus native group.
1159 @node Group Modeline Specification
1160 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1161 @cindex group modeline
1163 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1164 The mode line can be changed by setting
1165 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1166 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1170 The native news server.
1172 The native select method.
1176 @node Group Highlighting
1177 @subsection Group Highlighting
1178 @cindex highlighting
1179 @cindex group highlighting
1181 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1182 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1183 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1184 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1185 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1187 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1191 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1193 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1194 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1195 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1197 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1199 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1201 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1204 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1211 The number of unread articles in the group.
1215 Whether the group is a mail group.
1217 The level of the group.
1219 The score of the group.
1221 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1223 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1226 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1227 topic being inserted.
1230 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1231 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1232 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1234 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1235 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1236 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1237 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1238 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1241 @node Group Maneuvering
1242 @section Group Maneuvering
1243 @cindex group movement
1245 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1246 expected, hopefully.
1252 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1253 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1254 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1260 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1261 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1262 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1266 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1267 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1271 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1272 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1276 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1277 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1278 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1282 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1283 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1284 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1287 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1293 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1294 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1295 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1300 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1301 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1302 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1306 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1307 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1308 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1311 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1312 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1313 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1314 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1318 @node Selecting a Group
1319 @section Selecting a Group
1320 @cindex group selection
1325 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1326 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1327 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1328 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1329 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1330 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1331 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1332 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1333 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1334 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1338 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1339 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1340 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1341 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1342 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1346 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1347 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1348 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1349 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1350 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1351 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1352 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1353 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1354 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1358 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1359 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1360 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1361 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1362 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1366 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1367 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1368 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1369 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1370 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1371 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1372 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1373 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1376 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1377 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1378 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1379 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1384 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1385 full summary buffer.
1388 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1391 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1395 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1396 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1397 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1401 @node Subscription Commands
1402 @section Subscription Commands
1403 @cindex subscription
1411 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1412 Toggle subscription to the current group
1413 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1419 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1420 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1421 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1422 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1428 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1429 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1435 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1436 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1439 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1440 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1441 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1442 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1443 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1449 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1450 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1454 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1455 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1458 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1460 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1461 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1462 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1463 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1464 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1465 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1466 @file{.newsrc} file.
1470 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1480 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1481 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1482 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1483 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1484 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1489 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1490 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1491 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1495 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1496 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1497 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1499 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1500 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1501 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1502 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1503 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1504 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1511 @section Group Levels
1515 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1516 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1517 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1518 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1519 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1521 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1527 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1528 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1529 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1530 prompted for a level.
1533 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1534 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1535 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1536 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1537 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1538 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1539 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1540 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1541 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1542 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1543 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1544 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1545 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1546 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1547 for reasons of efficiency.
1549 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1550 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1552 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1553 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1554 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1556 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1557 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1558 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1559 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1560 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1561 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1562 relevant legal ranges.
1564 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1565 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1566 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1567 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1568 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1569 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1572 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1573 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1574 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1577 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1578 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1579 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1580 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1583 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1584 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1585 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1586 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1588 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1589 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1590 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1591 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1592 5. The default is 6.
1596 @section Group Score
1599 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1600 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1601 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1604 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1605 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1606 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1607 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1608 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1609 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1610 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1612 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1613 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1614 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1615 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1616 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1617 action after each summary exit, you can add
1618 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1619 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1620 slow things down somewhat.
1623 @node Marking Groups
1624 @section Marking Groups
1625 @cindex marking groups
1627 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1628 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1629 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1630 bidding on those groups.
1632 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1633 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1634 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1642 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1643 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1649 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1650 Remove the mark from the current group
1651 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1655 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1656 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1660 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1661 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1665 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1666 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1670 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1671 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1672 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1675 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1677 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1678 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1679 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1680 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1681 the command to be executed.
1684 @node Foreign Groups
1685 @section Foreign Groups
1686 @cindex foreign groups
1688 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1689 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1690 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1691 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1698 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1699 @cindex making groups
1700 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1701 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1702 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1706 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1707 @cindex renaming groups
1708 Rename the current group to something else
1709 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1710 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1716 @findex gnus-group-customize
1717 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1721 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1722 @cindex renaming groups
1723 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1724 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1728 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1729 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1730 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1734 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1735 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1736 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1740 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1742 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1743 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1748 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1749 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1753 @cindex (ding) archive
1754 @cindex archive group
1755 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1756 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1757 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1758 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1759 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1760 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1761 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1765 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1767 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1768 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1769 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1770 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1774 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1776 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1777 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1778 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1782 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1783 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1785 Make a group based on some file or other
1786 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1787 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1788 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1789 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1790 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1791 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1795 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1800 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1801 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1802 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1803 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1804 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1805 @xref{Web Searches}.
1808 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1809 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1810 This function will delete the current group
1811 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1812 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1813 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1814 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1818 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1819 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1820 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1824 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1825 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1826 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1829 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1832 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1833 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1834 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1835 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1836 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1839 @node Group Parameters
1840 @section Group Parameters
1841 @cindex group parameters
1843 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1848 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1849 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1850 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1851 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1852 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1853 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1854 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1855 copies of your followups.
1857 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1858 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1859 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1860 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1861 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1862 list address instead.
1866 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1867 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1868 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1869 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1870 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1872 @item broken-reply-to
1873 @cindex broken-reply-to
1874 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1875 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1876 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1877 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1878 broken behavior. So there!
1882 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1883 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1887 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1888 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1889 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1890 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1891 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1892 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1896 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1897 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1898 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1901 @cindex total-expire
1902 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1903 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1908 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1909 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1910 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1911 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1912 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1913 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1916 @cindex score file group parameter
1917 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1918 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1919 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1922 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1923 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1924 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1925 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1928 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1929 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1930 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1931 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1934 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1935 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1939 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1942 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1947 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
1948 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
1949 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
1952 @item @var{(variable form)}
1953 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1954 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1955 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1956 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1957 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1958 @code{eval}ed there.
1960 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1961 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1962 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1963 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
1964 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
1968 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1970 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
1973 @node Listing Groups
1974 @section Listing Groups
1975 @cindex group listing
1977 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1985 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1986 List all groups that have unread articles
1987 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1988 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1989 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
1990 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
1997 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1998 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1999 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2000 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2001 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2002 unsubscribed groups).
2006 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2007 List all unread groups on a specific level
2008 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2009 with no unread articles.
2013 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2014 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2015 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2016 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2021 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2022 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2026 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2027 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2028 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2032 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2033 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2037 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2038 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2039 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2040 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2041 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2042 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2043 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2044 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2048 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2049 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2050 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2054 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2055 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2056 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2060 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2061 @cindex visible group parameter
2062 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2063 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2064 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2065 get the same effect.
2067 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2068 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2069 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2070 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2071 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2074 @node Sorting Groups
2075 @section Sorting Groups
2076 @cindex sorting groups
2078 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2079 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2080 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2081 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2082 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2083 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2088 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2089 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2090 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2092 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2093 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2094 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2096 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2097 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2098 Sort by group level.
2100 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2101 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2102 Sort by group score.
2104 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2105 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2106 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2107 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2109 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2110 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2111 Sort by number of unread articles.
2113 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2114 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2115 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2120 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2121 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2125 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2126 some sorting criteria:
2130 @kindex G S a (Group)
2131 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2132 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2133 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2136 @kindex G S u (Group)
2137 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2138 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2139 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2142 @kindex G S l (Group)
2143 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2144 Sort the group buffer by group level
2145 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2148 @kindex G S v (Group)
2149 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2150 Sort the group buffer by group score
2151 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2154 @kindex G S r (Group)
2155 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2156 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2157 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2160 @kindex G S m (Group)
2161 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2162 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2163 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2167 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2169 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2173 @kindex G P a (Group)
2174 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2175 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2176 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2179 @kindex G P u (Group)
2180 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2181 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2182 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2185 @kindex G P l (Group)
2186 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2187 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2188 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2191 @kindex G P v (Group)
2192 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2193 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2194 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2197 @kindex G P r (Group)
2198 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2199 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2200 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2203 @kindex G P m (Group)
2204 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2205 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2206 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2212 @node Group Maintenance
2213 @section Group Maintenance
2214 @cindex bogus groups
2219 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2220 Find bogus groups and delete them
2221 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2225 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2226 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2227 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2231 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2232 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2233 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2234 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2237 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2238 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2239 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2240 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2245 @node Browse Foreign Server
2246 @section Browse Foreign Server
2247 @cindex foreign servers
2248 @cindex browsing servers
2253 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2254 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2255 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2256 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2259 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2260 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2261 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2262 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2264 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2269 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2270 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2274 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2275 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2278 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2279 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2280 Enter the current group and display the first article
2281 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2284 @kindex RET (Browse)
2285 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2286 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2290 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2291 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2292 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2298 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2299 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2303 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2304 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2305 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2310 @section Exiting Gnus
2311 @cindex exiting Gnus
2313 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2318 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2319 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2320 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2321 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2325 @findex gnus-group-exit
2326 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2330 @findex gnus-group-quit
2331 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2332 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2335 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2336 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2337 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2338 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2339 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2344 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2345 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2346 trying to customize meta-variables.
2351 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2352 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2353 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2359 @section Group Topics
2362 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2363 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2364 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2365 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2366 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2367 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2375 2: alt.religion.emacs
2378 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2380 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2381 13: comp.sources.unix
2384 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2386 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2387 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2388 is a toggling command.)
2390 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2391 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2392 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2393 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2396 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2397 the hook for the group mode:
2400 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2404 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2405 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2406 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2407 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2408 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2412 @node Topic Variables
2413 @subsection Topic Variables
2414 @cindex topic variables
2416 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2417 really neat, I think.
2419 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2420 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2421 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2434 Number of groups in the topic.
2436 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2438 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2441 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2442 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2443 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2446 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2447 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2449 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2450 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2451 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2454 @node Topic Commands
2455 @subsection Topic Commands
2456 @cindex topic commands
2458 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2459 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2460 definitions slightly.
2466 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2467 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2468 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2472 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2473 Move the current group to some other topic
2474 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2475 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2479 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2480 Copy the current group to some other topic
2481 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2482 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2486 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2487 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2488 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2489 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2493 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2494 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2495 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2499 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2500 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2501 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2505 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2506 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2507 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2510 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2511 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2512 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2513 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2517 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2519 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2520 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2521 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2522 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2523 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2524 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2527 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2528 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2529 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2530 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2531 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2535 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2536 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2537 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2541 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2542 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2543 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2548 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2549 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2552 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2553 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2554 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2558 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2559 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2560 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2564 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2565 @cindex group parameters
2566 @cindex topic parameters
2568 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2569 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2575 @subsection Topic Sorting
2576 @cindex topic sorting
2578 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2584 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2585 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2586 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2587 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2590 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2591 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2592 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2593 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2596 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2597 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2598 Sort the current topic by group level
2599 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2602 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2603 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2604 Sort the current topic by group score
2605 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2608 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2609 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2610 Sort the current topic by group rank
2611 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2614 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2615 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2616 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2617 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2621 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2624 @node Topic Topology
2625 @subsection Topic Topology
2626 @cindex topic topology
2629 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2635 2: alt.religion.emacs
2638 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2640 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2641 13: comp.sources.unix
2644 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2645 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2646 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2651 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2652 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2656 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2657 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2658 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2659 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2660 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2661 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2663 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2664 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2665 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2668 @node Topic Parameters
2669 @subsection Topic Parameters
2670 @cindex topic parameters
2672 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2673 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2674 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2676 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2677 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2678 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2679 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2685 2: alt.religion.emacs
2689 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2691 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2692 13: comp.sources.unix
2696 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2697 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2698 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2699 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2700 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2701 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2703 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2704 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2705 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2706 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2707 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2709 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2710 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2711 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2712 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2713 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2714 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2715 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2716 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2719 @node Misc Group Stuff
2720 @section Misc Group Stuff
2723 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2724 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2725 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2726 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2733 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2734 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2735 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2739 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2740 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2741 group name will be used as the default.
2745 @findex gnus-group-mail
2746 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2750 Variables for the group buffer:
2754 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2755 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2756 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2759 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2760 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2761 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2762 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2765 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2766 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2767 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2768 whether they are empty or not.
2773 @node Scanning New Messages
2774 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2775 @cindex new messages
2776 @cindex scanning new news
2782 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2783 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2784 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2785 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2786 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2791 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2792 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2793 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2794 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2795 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2796 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2798 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2799 @cindex activating groups
2801 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2802 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2807 @findex gnus-group-restart
2808 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2812 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2813 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2815 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2816 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2820 @node Group Information
2821 @subsection Group Information
2822 @cindex group information
2823 @cindex information on groups
2831 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2832 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2835 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2836 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2837 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2838 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2839 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2840 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2841 for fetching the file.
2843 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2844 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2849 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2850 @cindex describing groups
2851 @cindex group description
2852 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2853 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2854 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2858 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2859 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2860 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2865 @findex gnus-version
2866 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2870 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2871 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2874 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2877 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2878 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2882 @node Group Timestamp
2883 @subsection Group Timestamp
2885 @cindex group timestamps
2887 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
2888 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
2889 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
2892 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
2895 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
2897 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
2898 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
2901 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2902 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
2905 This will result in lines looking like:
2908 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
2909 0: custom 19961002T012713
2912 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
2913 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
2917 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2918 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
2923 @subsection File Commands
2924 @cindex file commands
2930 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2931 @vindex gnus-init-file
2932 @cindex reading init file
2933 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2934 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2938 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2939 @cindex saving .newsrc
2940 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2941 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2942 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2945 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2946 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2947 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2952 @node The Summary Buffer
2953 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2954 @cindex summary buffer
2956 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2957 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2959 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
2960 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
2962 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
2965 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2966 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2967 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2968 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2969 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2970 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2971 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2972 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2973 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2974 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2975 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2976 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2977 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2978 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2979 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2980 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2981 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2982 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2983 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2984 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2985 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2986 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2987 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2988 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2989 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2990 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
2994 @node Summary Buffer Format
2995 @section Summary Buffer Format
2996 @cindex summary buffer format
2999 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3000 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3001 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3004 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3005 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3006 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3007 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3008 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3009 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
3010 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3011 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3012 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3013 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3014 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3016 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3017 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3018 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3019 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3022 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3023 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3025 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3026 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3027 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3028 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3029 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3031 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3033 The following format specification characters are understood:
3041 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
3042 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3043 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3045 Full @code{From} header.
3047 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3049 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3050 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3051 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3052 may be more thorough.
3054 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3057 Number of lines in the article.
3059 Number of characters in the article.
3061 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3063 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3064 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3066 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3067 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3069 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3070 for adopted articles.
3072 One space for each thread level.
3074 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3082 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3083 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3084 default level. If the difference between
3085 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3086 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3094 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
3096 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3102 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3103 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3105 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3106 article has any children.
3110 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3111 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3112 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3113 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3114 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3115 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3118 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3119 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3120 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3121 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3122 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3123 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3125 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3126 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3128 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3131 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3132 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3134 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3135 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3136 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3137 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3139 Here are the elements you can play with:
3145 Unprefixed group name.
3147 Current article number.
3151 Number of unread articles in this group.
3153 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3155 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3156 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3157 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3158 and no unselected ones.
3160 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3161 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3163 Subject of the current article.
3167 Name of the current score file.
3169 Number of dormant articles.
3171 Number of ticked articles.
3173 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3175 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3179 @node Summary Highlighting
3180 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3184 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3185 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3186 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3187 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3188 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3190 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3191 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3192 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3193 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3195 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3196 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3197 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3198 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3200 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3201 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3202 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3203 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3204 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3205 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3207 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3208 ((> score default) . bold))
3210 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3211 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3215 @node Summary Maneuvering
3216 @section Summary Maneuvering
3217 @cindex summary movement
3219 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3220 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3222 None of these commands select articles.
3227 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3228 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3229 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3230 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3231 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3235 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3236 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3237 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3238 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3239 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3244 @kindex G j (Summary)
3245 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3246 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3247 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3250 @kindex G g (Summary)
3251 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3252 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3253 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3256 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3257 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3258 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3259 to the group buffer.
3261 Variables related to summary movement:
3265 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3266 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3267 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3268 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3269 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3270 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3271 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3272 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3273 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3274 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3275 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3276 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3277 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3278 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3280 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3281 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3282 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3283 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3284 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3285 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3286 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3288 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3289 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3290 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3291 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3292 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3294 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3295 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3296 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3297 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3298 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3299 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3300 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3301 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3307 @node Choosing Articles
3308 @section Choosing Articles
3309 @cindex selecting articles
3312 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3313 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3317 @node Choosing Commands
3318 @subsection Choosing Commands
3320 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3321 and they all select and display an article.
3325 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3326 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3327 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3328 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3333 @kindex G n (Summary)
3334 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3335 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3340 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3341 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3346 @kindex G N (Summary)
3347 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3348 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3353 @kindex G P (Summary)
3354 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3355 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3358 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3359 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3360 Go to the next article with the same subject
3361 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3364 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3365 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3366 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3367 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3371 @kindex G f (Summary)
3373 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3374 Go to the first unread article
3375 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3379 @kindex G b (Summary)
3381 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3382 Go to the article with the highest score
3383 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3388 @kindex G l (Summary)
3389 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3390 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3393 @kindex G p (Summary)
3394 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3395 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3396 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3397 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3398 history as you like.
3402 @node Choosing Variables
3403 @subsection Choosing Variables
3405 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3408 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3409 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3410 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3411 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3412 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3413 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3415 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3416 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3417 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3418 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3420 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3421 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3422 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3423 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3424 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3425 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3426 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3427 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3428 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3429 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3430 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3431 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3432 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3433 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3438 @node Paging the Article
3439 @section Scrolling the Article
3440 @cindex article scrolling
3445 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3446 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3447 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3448 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3449 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3452 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3453 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3454 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3457 @kindex RET (Summary)
3458 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3459 Scroll the current article one line forward
3460 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3464 @kindex A g (Summary)
3466 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3467 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3468 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3469 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3470 the way it came from the server.
3475 @kindex A < (Summary)
3476 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3477 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3478 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3483 @kindex A > (Summary)
3484 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3485 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3489 @kindex A s (Summary)
3491 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3492 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3493 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3498 @node Reply Followup and Post
3499 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3502 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3503 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3507 @node Summary Mail Commands
3508 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3510 @cindex composing mail
3512 Commands for composing a mail message:
3518 @kindex S r (Summary)
3520 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3521 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3522 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3527 @kindex S R (Summary)
3528 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3529 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3530 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3531 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3534 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3535 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3536 Forward the current article to some other person
3537 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3538 headers of the forwarded article.
3543 @kindex S m (Summary)
3544 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3545 Send a mail to some other person
3546 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3549 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3550 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3551 @cindex bouncing mail
3552 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3553 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3554 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3555 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3556 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3557 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3558 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3559 very well fail, though.
3562 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3563 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3564 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3565 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3566 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3567 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3568 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3569 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3570 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3571 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3573 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3574 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3575 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3576 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3577 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3580 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3581 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3582 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3583 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3584 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3587 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3588 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3589 @cindex crossposting
3590 @cindex excessive crossposting
3591 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3592 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3594 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3595 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3596 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3597 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3598 command understands the process/prefix convention
3599 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3604 @node Summary Post Commands
3605 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3607 @cindex composing news
3609 Commands for posting a news article:
3615 @kindex S p (Summary)
3616 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3617 Post an article to the current group
3618 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3623 @kindex S f (Summary)
3624 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3625 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3629 @kindex S F (Summary)
3631 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3632 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3633 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3634 process/prefix convention.
3637 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3638 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3639 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3640 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3641 headers of the forwarded article.
3644 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3645 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3646 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3647 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3650 @kindex S u (Summary)
3651 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3652 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3653 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3657 @node Canceling and Superseding
3658 @section Canceling Articles
3659 @cindex canceling articles
3660 @cindex superseding articles
3662 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3663 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3665 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3667 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3669 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3670 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3671 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3672 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3674 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3675 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3678 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3679 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3680 your original article.
3682 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3684 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3685 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3686 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3689 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3690 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3691 have posted almost the same article twice.
3693 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3694 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3695 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3696 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3697 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3698 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3699 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3700 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3701 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3702 canceled/superseded.
3704 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3707 @node Marking Articles
3708 @section Marking Articles
3709 @cindex article marking
3710 @cindex article ticking
3713 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3715 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3716 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3717 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3719 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3722 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3723 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3724 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3728 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3732 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3733 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3737 @node Unread Articles
3738 @subsection Unread Articles
3740 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3745 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3746 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3748 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3749 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3750 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3751 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3752 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3756 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3757 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3759 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3760 are followups to it.
3763 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3764 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3766 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3771 @subsection Read Articles
3772 @cindex expirable mark
3774 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3779 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3780 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3781 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3784 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3785 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3788 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3789 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3790 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3793 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3794 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3797 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3798 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3801 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3802 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3805 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3806 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3809 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3810 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3813 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3814 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3817 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3818 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3822 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3823 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3824 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3828 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3829 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3831 One more special mark, though:
3835 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3836 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3838 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3839 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3840 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3841 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3847 @subsection Other Marks
3848 @cindex process mark
3851 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3857 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3858 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3859 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3860 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3861 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3864 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3865 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3866 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3867 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3870 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3871 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3872 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3875 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3876 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3877 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3878 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3881 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3882 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3883 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3884 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3885 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3888 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3889 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3890 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3891 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3892 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3893 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3897 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3898 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3899 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3901 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3902 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3903 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3907 @subsection Setting Marks
3908 @cindex setting marks
3910 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3916 @kindex M t (Summary)
3917 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3918 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3923 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3924 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3925 Mark the current article as dormant
3926 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3930 @kindex M d (Summary)
3932 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3933 Mark the current article as read
3934 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3938 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3939 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3940 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3945 @kindex M k (Summary)
3946 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3947 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3948 and then select the next unread article
3949 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3953 @kindex M K (Summary)
3954 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3955 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3956 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3957 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3960 @kindex M C (Summary)
3961 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3962 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3965 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3966 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3967 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3968 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3971 @kindex M H (Summary)
3972 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3973 Catchup the current group to point
3974 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3977 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3978 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3979 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3980 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3983 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3984 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3985 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3986 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3990 @kindex M c (Summary)
3991 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3992 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3993 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3994 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3998 @kindex M e (Summary)
4000 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4001 Mark the current article as expirable
4002 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4005 @kindex M b (Summary)
4006 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4007 Set a bookmark in the current article
4008 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4011 @kindex M B (Summary)
4012 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4013 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4014 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4017 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4018 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4019 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4020 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4023 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4024 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4025 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4026 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4029 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4030 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4031 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4032 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4033 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4036 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4037 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4038 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4039 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4040 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4041 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4042 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4043 The default is @code{t}.
4046 @node Setting Process Marks
4047 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4048 @cindex setting process marks
4055 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4056 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4057 Mark the current article with the process mark
4058 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4059 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4063 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4064 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4065 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4066 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4069 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4070 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4071 Remove the process mark from all articles
4072 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4075 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4076 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4077 Invert the list of process marked articles
4078 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4081 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4082 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4083 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4086 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4087 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4088 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4091 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4092 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4093 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4094 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4097 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4098 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4099 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4100 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4103 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4104 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4105 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4106 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4109 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4110 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4111 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4114 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4115 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4116 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4117 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4120 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4121 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4122 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4125 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4126 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4127 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4128 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4131 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4132 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4133 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4134 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4137 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4138 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4139 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4140 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4143 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4144 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4145 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4146 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4155 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4156 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4157 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4164 @kindex / / (Summary)
4165 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4166 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4167 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4170 @kindex / a (Summary)
4171 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4172 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4173 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4177 @kindex / u (Summary)
4179 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4180 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4181 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4182 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4183 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4186 @kindex / m (Summary)
4187 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4188 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4189 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4192 @kindex / n (Summary)
4193 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4194 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4195 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4196 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4199 @kindex / w (Summary)
4200 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4201 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4202 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4206 @kindex / v (Summary)
4207 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4208 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4209 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4213 @kindex M S (Summary)
4214 @kindex / E (Summary)
4215 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4216 Display all expunged articles
4217 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4220 @kindex / D (Summary)
4221 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4222 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4225 @kindex / d (Summary)
4226 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4227 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4230 @kindex / c (Summary)
4231 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4232 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4233 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4236 @kindex / C (Summary)
4237 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4238 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4239 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4240 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4248 @cindex article threading
4250 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
4251 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
4255 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4256 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4260 @node Customizing Threading
4261 @subsection Customizing Threading
4262 @cindex customizing threading
4268 @item gnus-show-threads
4269 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4270 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4271 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4272 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4273 slower and more awkward.
4275 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4276 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4277 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4278 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4279 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4280 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4281 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4282 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4283 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4284 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4285 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4286 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4288 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4289 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4290 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4291 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4292 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4293 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4294 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4295 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4296 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4297 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4298 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4299 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4300 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4301 @code{nil} by default.
4303 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4304 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4305 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4306 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4307 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4308 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4309 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4310 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4311 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4312 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4313 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4315 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4316 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4317 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4319 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4320 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4321 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4322 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4323 simplification is used.
4325 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4326 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4327 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4328 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4330 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4332 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4338 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4339 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4340 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4341 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4346 (mapconcat 'identity
4347 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4349 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4352 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4355 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4356 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4357 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4358 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4359 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4360 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4361 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4362 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4364 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4365 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4366 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4367 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4368 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4369 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4370 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4371 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4372 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4376 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4377 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4378 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4379 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4381 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4382 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4383 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4386 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4390 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4391 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4394 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4395 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4396 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4397 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4398 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4399 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4401 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4402 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4403 There are four possible values:
4405 @cindex adopting articles
4410 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4411 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4412 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4413 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4416 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4417 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4418 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4419 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4420 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4421 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4422 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4425 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4426 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4427 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4431 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4432 display them after one another.
4435 Don't gather loose threads.
4438 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4439 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4440 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4443 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4444 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4445 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4448 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4449 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4450 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4451 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4452 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4455 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4456 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4457 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4462 @node Thread Commands
4463 @subsection Thread Commands
4464 @cindex thread commands
4470 @kindex T k (Summary)
4471 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4472 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4473 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4474 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4475 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4480 @kindex T l (Summary)
4481 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4483 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4484 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4487 @kindex T i (Summary)
4488 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4489 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4490 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4493 @kindex T # (Summary)
4494 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4495 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4496 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4499 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4500 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4501 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4502 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4505 @kindex T T (Summary)
4506 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4507 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4510 @kindex T s (Summary)
4511 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4512 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4513 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4516 @kindex T h (Summary)
4517 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4518 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4521 @kindex T S (Summary)
4522 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4523 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4526 @kindex T H (Summary)
4527 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4528 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4531 @kindex T t (Summary)
4532 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4533 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4534 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4535 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4538 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4539 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4540 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4541 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4545 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4546 understand the numeric prefix.
4551 @kindex T n (Summary)
4552 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4553 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4556 @kindex T p (Summary)
4557 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4558 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4561 @kindex T d (Summary)
4562 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4563 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4566 @kindex T u (Summary)
4567 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4568 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4571 @kindex T o (Summary)
4572 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4573 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4576 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4577 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4578 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4579 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4580 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4581 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4582 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4583 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4584 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4585 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4586 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4587 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4593 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4594 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4595 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4596 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4597 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4598 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4599 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4600 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4601 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4602 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4603 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4604 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4605 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4606 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4608 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4609 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4610 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4611 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4612 in the list. You should probably always include
4613 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4614 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4615 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4616 ascending article order.
4618 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4619 number, you could do something like:
4622 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4623 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4624 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4625 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4628 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4629 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4630 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4631 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4632 which the articles arrived.
4634 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4638 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4640 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4641 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4644 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4645 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4646 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4647 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4650 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4651 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4652 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4653 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4654 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4655 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4656 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4657 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4658 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4659 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4660 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4661 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4662 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4664 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4668 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4669 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4670 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4675 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4676 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4677 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4678 @cindex article pre-fetch
4681 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4682 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4683 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4684 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4685 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4687 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4688 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4690 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4691 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4692 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4693 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4694 connection is blocked.
4696 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4697 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4698 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4699 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4701 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4702 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4703 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4704 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4707 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4710 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4711 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4712 happen automatically.
4714 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4715 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4716 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4717 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4718 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4719 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4720 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4722 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4723 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4724 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4725 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4726 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4727 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4728 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4729 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4730 data structure as the only parameter.
4732 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4733 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4736 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4737 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4738 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4739 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4742 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4745 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4746 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4747 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4749 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4750 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4751 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4752 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4756 Remove articles when they are read.
4759 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4762 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4764 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4765 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4766 from the next group.
4769 @node Article Caching
4770 @section Article Caching
4771 @cindex article caching
4774 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4775 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4776 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4777 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4778 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4780 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4782 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4783 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4784 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4785 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4786 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4787 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4788 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4789 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4791 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4792 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4793 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4794 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4795 as dormant, and don't worry.
4797 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4799 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4800 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4801 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4802 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4803 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4804 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4805 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4806 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4807 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4808 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4810 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4811 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4812 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4813 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4814 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4815 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4816 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4818 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4819 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4820 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4821 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4822 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4823 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4824 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4827 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4828 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4829 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4830 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4831 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4832 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4833 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4834 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4835 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4839 @node Persistent Articles
4840 @section Persistent Articles
4841 @cindex persistent articles
4843 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4844 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4845 useful in my opinion.
4847 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4848 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4849 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4850 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4851 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4852 the expiry going on at the news server.
4854 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4855 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4856 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4862 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4863 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4866 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4867 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4868 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4869 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4873 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4875 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4876 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4877 interested in persistent articles:
4880 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4884 @node Article Backlog
4885 @section Article Backlog
4887 @cindex article backlog
4889 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4890 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4891 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4892 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4893 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4894 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4895 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4896 increase memory usage some.
4898 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4899 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4900 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4901 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4902 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4903 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4904 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4906 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4909 @node Saving Articles
4910 @section Saving Articles
4911 @cindex saving articles
4913 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4914 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4915 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4916 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4917 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4919 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4920 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4921 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4923 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4924 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4925 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4926 deleted before saving.
4932 @kindex O o (Summary)
4934 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4935 Save the current article using the default article saver
4936 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4939 @kindex O m (Summary)
4940 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4941 Save the current article in mail format
4942 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4945 @kindex O r (Summary)
4946 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4947 Save the current article in rmail format
4948 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4951 @kindex O f (Summary)
4952 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4953 Save the current article in plain file format
4954 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4957 @kindex O F (Summary)
4958 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
4959 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
4960 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
4963 @kindex O b (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4965 Save the current article body in plain file format
4966 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4969 @kindex O h (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4971 Save the current article in mh folder format
4972 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4975 @kindex O v (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4977 Save the current article in a VM folder
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
4981 @kindex O p (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4983 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4984 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4987 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4988 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4989 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4990 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4991 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4992 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4993 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4994 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4995 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4996 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4997 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4998 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5002 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5003 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5004 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5005 functions below, or you can create your own.
5009 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5010 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5011 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5012 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5013 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5014 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5015 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5017 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5018 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5019 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5020 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5021 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5022 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5024 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5025 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5026 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5027 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5028 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5029 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5030 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5032 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5033 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5034 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5035 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5036 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5038 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5039 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5040 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5041 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5042 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5045 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5046 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5047 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5048 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5049 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
5050 the latter does not.
5052 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5053 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5054 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5055 reader to use this setting.
5058 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5059 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5060 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5061 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5064 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5065 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5066 available functions that generate names:
5070 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5071 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5072 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5074 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5075 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5076 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5078 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5079 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5080 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5082 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5083 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5084 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5087 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5088 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5089 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5090 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5091 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5095 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5096 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5097 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5098 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5101 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5102 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5103 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5104 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5105 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5106 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5107 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5108 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5109 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5111 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5112 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5113 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5114 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5116 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5117 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5118 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5121 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5122 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5123 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5124 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5125 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5126 all the files in the toplevel directory
5127 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5128 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5129 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5130 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5132 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5133 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5134 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5135 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5136 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5139 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5143 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5144 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5147 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5148 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5149 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5150 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5153 @node Decoding Articles
5154 @section Decoding Articles
5155 @cindex decoding articles
5157 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5158 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5161 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5162 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5163 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5164 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5165 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5168 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5169 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5170 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5171 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5172 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5174 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5175 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5176 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5178 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5179 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5180 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5182 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5183 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5184 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5187 @node Uuencoded Articles
5188 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5190 @cindex uuencoded articles
5195 @kindex X u (Summary)
5196 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5197 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5200 @kindex X U (Summary)
5201 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5202 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5203 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5206 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5207 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5208 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5211 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5212 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5213 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5214 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5217 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5218 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5219 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5220 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5221 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5223 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5224 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5225 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5226 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5229 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5230 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5231 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5232 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5233 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5234 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5238 @node Shared Articles
5239 @subsection Shared Articles
5241 @cindex shared articles
5246 @kindex X s (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5248 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5251 @kindex X S (Summary)
5252 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5253 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5256 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5257 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5258 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5261 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5262 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5263 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5264 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5268 @node PostScript Files
5269 @subsection PostScript Files
5275 @kindex X p (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5277 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5280 @kindex X P (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5282 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5283 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5286 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5287 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5288 View the current PostScript series
5289 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5292 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5294 View and save the current PostScript series
5295 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5299 @node Decoding Variables
5300 @subsection Decoding Variables
5302 Adjective, not verb.
5305 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5306 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5307 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5311 @node Rule Variables
5312 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5313 @cindex rule variables
5315 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5316 variables are on the form
5319 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5326 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5327 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5329 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5330 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5333 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5334 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5337 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5338 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5339 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5340 user and default view rules.
5342 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5343 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5344 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5349 @node Other Decode Variables
5350 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5353 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5355 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5356 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5357 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5358 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5359 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5363 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5364 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5367 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5368 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5369 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5372 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5373 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5374 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5375 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5376 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5379 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5380 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5381 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5383 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5384 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5385 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5386 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5387 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5390 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5391 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5392 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5394 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5395 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5396 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5397 looking for files to display.
5399 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5400 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5401 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5404 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5405 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5406 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5409 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5410 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5411 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5414 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5415 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5416 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5419 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5420 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5421 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5422 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5424 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5425 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5426 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5427 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5429 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5430 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5432 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5433 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5434 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5435 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5437 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5438 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5439 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5440 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5441 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5442 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5443 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5444 simply dropped them.
5449 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5450 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5454 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5455 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5456 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5457 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5458 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5459 for you when you post the article.
5461 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5462 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5463 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5464 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5466 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5467 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5468 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5469 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5470 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5471 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5472 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5474 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5475 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5476 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5477 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5478 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5479 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5480 Default is @code{t}.
5486 @subsection Viewing Files
5487 @cindex viewing files
5488 @cindex pseudo-articles
5490 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5491 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5492 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5493 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5494 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5495 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5496 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5498 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5499 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5500 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5501 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5503 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5504 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5505 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5507 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5508 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5509 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5510 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5511 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5513 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5514 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5515 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5516 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5517 a list of parameters to that command.
5519 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5520 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5521 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5523 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5524 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5525 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5528 @node Article Treatment
5529 @section Article Treatment
5531 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5532 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5533 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5534 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5535 these articles easier.
5538 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5539 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5540 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5541 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5542 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5543 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5547 @node Article Highlighting
5548 @subsection Article Highlighting
5551 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5552 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5557 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5558 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5559 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5562 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5563 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5564 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5565 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5566 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5567 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5568 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5569 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5570 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5571 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5572 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5575 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5576 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5577 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5579 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5582 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5584 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5585 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5586 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5588 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5589 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5590 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5592 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5593 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5594 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5596 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5597 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5598 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5599 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5600 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5603 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5604 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5605 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5607 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5608 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5609 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5611 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5612 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5613 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5614 that it's a citation.
5616 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5617 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5618 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5620 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5621 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5622 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5624 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5625 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5626 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5627 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5633 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5634 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5635 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5636 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5637 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5638 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5639 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5640 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5646 @node Article Hiding
5647 @subsection Article Hiding
5648 @cindex article hiding
5650 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5651 too much cruft in most articles.
5656 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5657 @findex gnus-article-hide
5658 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5661 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5662 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5663 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5667 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5668 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5669 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5670 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5673 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5674 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5675 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5679 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5681 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5684 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5685 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5686 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5687 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5690 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5691 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5692 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5693 customizing the hiding:
5697 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5698 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5699 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5700 50), hide the cited text.
5702 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5703 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5704 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5707 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5708 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5709 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5710 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5711 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5716 Start point of the hidden text.
5718 End point of the hidden text.
5720 Length of the hidden text.
5723 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5724 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5725 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5730 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5732 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5733 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5734 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5735 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5739 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5740 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5741 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5743 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5744 citation customization.
5747 @node Article Washing
5748 @subsection Article Washing
5750 @cindex article washing
5752 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5753 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5755 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5756 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5762 @kindex W l (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5764 Remove page breaks from the current article
5765 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5768 @kindex W r (Summary)
5769 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5770 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5771 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5774 @kindex W t (Summary)
5775 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5776 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5777 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5780 @kindex W v (Summary)
5781 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5782 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5783 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5786 @kindex W m (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5788 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5789 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5792 @kindex W o (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5794 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5797 @kindex W w (Summary)
5798 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5799 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5800 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5801 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5804 @kindex W c (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5806 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5809 @kindex W q (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5811 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5814 @kindex W f (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5817 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5818 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5819 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5820 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5821 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5822 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5823 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5824 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5825 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5826 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5827 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5828 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5829 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5830 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5831 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5832 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5833 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5837 @kindex W b (Summary)
5838 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5839 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5842 @kindex W B (Summary)
5843 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5844 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5845 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5848 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5849 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5850 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5851 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5854 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5855 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5856 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5857 lines with a single empty line.
5858 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5861 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5862 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5863 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5864 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5867 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5869 Do all the three commands above
5870 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5875 @node Article Buttons
5876 @subsection Article Buttons
5879 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5880 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5881 with the minimum of fuzz.
5883 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5884 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5885 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5890 @item gnus-button-alist
5891 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5892 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5895 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5901 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5902 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5903 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5906 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5907 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5908 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
5911 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5912 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5913 avoid false matches.
5916 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5919 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5920 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5924 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5927 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5930 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5931 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5932 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5933 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5934 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5937 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5940 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5942 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5943 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5944 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5945 default values of the variables above.
5947 @item gnus-article-button-face
5948 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5949 Face used on buttons.
5951 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5952 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5953 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5959 @subsection Article Date
5961 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5962 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5963 when the article was sent.
5968 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5970 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5971 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5974 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5976 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5979 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5980 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5981 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5982 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5985 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5987 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5988 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5989 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5990 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5991 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5996 @node Article Signature
5997 @subsection Article Signature
5999 @cindex article signature
6001 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6002 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6003 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6004 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6005 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6006 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6007 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6008 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6009 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6012 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6013 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6014 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6015 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6016 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6017 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6018 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6019 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6022 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6025 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6026 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6031 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6034 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6037 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6038 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6040 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6041 in question is not a signature.
6044 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6048 @node Summary Sorting
6049 @section Summary Sorting
6050 @cindex summary sorting
6052 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6053 can't really see why you'd want that.
6058 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6060 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6063 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6064 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6065 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6068 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6069 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6070 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6073 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6075 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6078 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6080 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6083 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6084 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6085 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6086 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6087 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6091 @node Finding the Parent
6092 @section Finding the Parent
6093 @cindex parent articles
6094 @cindex referring articles
6096 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6098 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6099 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6100 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6101 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6102 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6103 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6104 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6105 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6107 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6108 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6109 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6110 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6111 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6114 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6115 @kindex A R (Summary)
6116 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6117 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6118 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6120 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6121 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6123 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6124 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6125 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6126 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6127 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6128 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6129 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6131 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6132 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6133 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6134 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6135 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6136 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6137 not really necessary.
6139 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6140 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6141 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6142 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6143 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6144 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6147 @node Alternative Approaches
6148 @section Alternative Approaches
6150 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6151 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6154 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6155 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6160 @subsection Pick and Read
6161 @cindex pick and read
6163 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6164 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6165 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6166 an article buffer displayed.
6168 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6169 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6170 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6171 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6172 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6173 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6176 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6181 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6182 Pick the article on the current line
6183 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6184 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6185 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6188 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6189 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6190 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6191 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6195 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6196 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6200 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6201 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6205 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6206 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6210 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6211 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6215 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6216 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6220 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6221 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6225 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6226 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6230 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6231 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6235 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6236 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6240 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6241 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6245 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6246 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6247 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6248 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6249 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6250 will still be visible when you are reading.
6254 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6257 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6260 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6261 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6263 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6264 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6265 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6267 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6268 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6269 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6270 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6271 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6272 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6273 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6277 @subsection Binary Groups
6278 @cindex binary groups
6280 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6281 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6282 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6283 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6284 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6285 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6286 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6289 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6290 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6291 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6293 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6294 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6298 @section Tree Display
6301 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6302 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6303 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6304 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6307 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6310 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6311 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6312 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6314 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6315 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6316 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6317 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6320 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6321 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6322 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6323 default is @code{modeline}.
6325 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6326 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6327 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6328 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6329 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6330 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6331 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6337 The name of the poster.
6339 The @code{From} header.
6341 The number of the article.
6343 The opening bracket.
6345 The closing bracket.
6350 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6352 Variables related to the display are:
6355 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6356 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6357 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6358 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6359 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6360 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6362 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6363 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6364 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6365 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6369 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6370 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6371 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6372 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6373 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6374 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6376 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6377 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6378 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6379 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6380 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6381 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6382 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6386 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6389 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6399 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6403 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6404 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6406 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6408 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6414 @node Mail Group Commands
6415 @section Mail Group Commands
6416 @cindex mail group commands
6418 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6419 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6421 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6422 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6427 @kindex B e (Summary)
6428 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6429 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6430 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6433 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6435 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6436 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6437 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6438 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6441 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6442 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6443 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6444 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6445 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6448 @kindex B m (Summary)
6450 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6451 Move the article from one mail group to another
6452 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6455 @kindex B c (Summary)
6457 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6458 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6459 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6462 @kindex B C (Summary)
6463 @cindex crosspost mail
6464 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6465 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6466 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6467 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6468 be properly updated.
6471 @kindex B i (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6473 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6474 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6475 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6478 @kindex B r (Summary)
6479 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6480 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6484 @kindex B w (Summary)
6486 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6487 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6488 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6489 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6490 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6493 @kindex B q (Summary)
6494 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6495 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6496 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6497 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6500 @kindex B p (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6502 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6503 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6504 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6505 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6506 article from your news server (or rather, from
6507 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6508 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6509 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6510 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6511 just not have arrived yet.
6515 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6516 @cindex moving articles
6517 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6518 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6519 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6520 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6521 suggestions you find reasonable.
6524 @node Various Summary Stuff
6525 @section Various Summary Stuff
6528 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6529 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6530 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6531 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6535 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6536 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6537 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6539 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6540 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6541 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6542 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6543 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6544 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6547 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6548 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6549 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6550 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6551 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6556 @node Summary Group Information
6557 @subsection Summary Group Information
6562 @kindex H f (Summary)
6563 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6564 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6565 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6566 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6567 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6568 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6569 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6570 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6574 @kindex H d (Summary)
6575 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6576 Give a brief description of the current group
6577 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6578 rereading the description from the server.
6581 @kindex H h (Summary)
6582 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6583 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6584 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6587 @kindex H i (Summary)
6588 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6589 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6593 @node Searching for Articles
6594 @subsection Searching for Articles
6599 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6600 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6601 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6602 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6605 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6606 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6607 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6608 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6612 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6613 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6614 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6615 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6618 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6619 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6620 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6621 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6624 @node Summary Generation Commands
6625 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6630 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6631 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6632 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6635 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6637 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6638 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6643 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6644 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6649 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6650 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6651 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6652 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6653 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6654 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6655 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6656 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6657 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6661 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6662 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6663 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6664 several documents into one biiig group
6665 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6666 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6667 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6668 command understands the process/prefix convention
6669 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6672 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6674 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6675 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6676 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6677 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6681 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6682 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6683 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6688 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6689 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6690 @cindex summary exit
6691 @cindex exiting groups
6693 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6694 group and return you to the group buffer.
6700 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6702 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6703 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6704 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6705 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6706 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6707 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6708 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6709 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6714 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6716 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6717 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6718 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6722 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6724 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6725 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6726 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6729 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6730 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6731 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6732 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6735 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6736 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6737 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6738 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6741 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6742 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6743 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6744 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6745 all articles, both read and unread.
6749 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6750 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6751 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6752 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6753 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6754 articles, both read and unread.
6757 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6758 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6759 Exit the group and go to the next group
6760 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6763 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6764 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6765 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6766 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6769 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6770 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6773 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6774 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6775 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6776 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6777 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6778 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6779 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6780 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6781 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6782 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6783 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6784 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6786 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6788 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6789 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6790 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6791 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6792 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6793 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6794 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6795 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6796 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6799 @node Crosspost Handling
6800 @section Crosspost Handling
6804 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6805 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6806 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6807 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6808 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6809 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6812 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6813 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6814 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6815 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6816 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6818 @cindex cross-posting
6821 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6822 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6823 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6824 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6825 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6826 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6827 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6828 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6829 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6830 the cross reference mechanism.
6832 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6833 @cindex overview.fmt
6834 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6835 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6836 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6837 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6838 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6839 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6842 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6843 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6844 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6849 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6852 @node Duplicate Suppression
6853 @section Duplicate Suppression
6855 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6856 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
6857 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6858 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6863 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6864 is evil and not very common.
6867 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6868 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6871 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6872 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6875 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6878 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6879 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6881 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6882 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6883 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6884 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6885 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6886 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6887 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
6890 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6891 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6892 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6893 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6894 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6898 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6899 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6900 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6902 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6903 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6904 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6905 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6906 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6907 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6909 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6910 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6911 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6912 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6914 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6915 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6916 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6917 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6920 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6921 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6922 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6923 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6924 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6925 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6926 to you to figure out, I think.
6929 @node The Article Buffer
6930 @chapter The Article Buffer
6931 @cindex article buffer
6933 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6934 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6935 tell Gnus otherwise.
6938 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6939 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6940 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6941 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
6942 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6946 @node Hiding Headers
6947 @section Hiding Headers
6948 @cindex hiding headers
6949 @cindex deleting headers
6951 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6952 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6954 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6955 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6956 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6957 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6958 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6959 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6960 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6961 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6962 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6964 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6968 @item gnus-visible-headers
6969 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6970 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6971 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6972 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6974 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6975 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6978 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6981 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6984 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6985 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6986 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6987 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6988 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6989 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6991 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6992 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6995 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6998 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7001 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7002 variable will have no effect.
7006 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7007 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7008 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7009 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7010 the headers are to be displayed.
7012 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7013 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7016 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7019 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7020 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
7021 are listed in this variable.
7023 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7024 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7025 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7026 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7027 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7028 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7029 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7030 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7031 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7033 These conditions are:
7036 Remove all empty headers.
7038 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7041 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7042 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7044 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7047 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7051 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7054 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7055 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7058 This is also the default value for this variable.
7062 @section Using @sc{mime}
7065 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7066 while people stand around yawning.
7068 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7069 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7071 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7072 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7073 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7075 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7076 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7077 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7078 @findex metamail-buffer
7079 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7080 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7081 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7082 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7083 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7084 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7085 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7086 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7088 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7089 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7090 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7091 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7092 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7093 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7094 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7095 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7096 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7098 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7101 @node Customizing Articles
7102 @section Customizing Articles
7103 @cindex article customization
7105 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7106 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7107 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7108 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7110 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7111 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7112 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7113 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7114 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7115 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7116 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7117 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7118 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7120 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7121 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7122 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7123 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7124 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7127 @node Article Keymap
7128 @section Article Keymap
7130 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7131 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7132 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7133 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7136 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7141 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7142 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7143 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7146 @kindex DEL (Article)
7147 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7148 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7151 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7152 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7153 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7154 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7155 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7158 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7159 @findex gnus-article-mail
7160 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7161 given a prefix, include the mail.
7165 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7166 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7167 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7171 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7172 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7173 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7176 @kindex TAB (Article)
7177 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7178 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7179 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7182 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7183 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7184 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7190 @section Misc Article
7194 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7195 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7196 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7197 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7200 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7201 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7202 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7203 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7204 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7205 the contents of the article buffer.
7207 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7208 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7209 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7210 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7211 hiding headers, and the like.
7213 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7214 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7215 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7217 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7218 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7219 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7220 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7222 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7223 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7224 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7225 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7226 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7230 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7231 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7235 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7237 @item gnus-break-pages
7238 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7239 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7240 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7241 paging will not be done.
7243 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7244 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7245 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7250 @node Composing Messages
7251 @chapter Composing Messages
7256 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7257 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7258 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7259 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7260 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7261 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7262 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7265 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7266 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7267 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7268 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7269 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7270 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7271 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7272 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7275 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7276 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7282 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7285 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7286 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7287 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7288 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7296 Variables for composing news articles:
7299 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7300 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7301 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7302 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7303 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7304 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7305 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7306 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7307 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7310 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7311 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7312 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7313 file. It is 1000 by default.
7318 @node Posting Server
7319 @section Posting Server
7321 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7322 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7324 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7326 @vindex gnus-post-method
7328 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7329 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7330 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7331 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7332 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7335 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7338 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7339 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7340 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7341 the ``current'' server for posting.
7343 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7344 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7346 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7347 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7352 @section Mail and Post
7354 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7358 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7359 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7360 @cindex mailing lists
7362 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7363 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7364 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7365 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7366 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7367 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7368 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7369 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7370 still a pain, though.
7374 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7375 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7376 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7379 @findex ispell-message
7381 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7385 @node Archived Messages
7386 @section Archived Messages
7387 @cindex archived messages
7388 @cindex sent messages
7390 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7391 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7392 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7393 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7395 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7396 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7397 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7401 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7404 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7405 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7406 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7407 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7410 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7411 '(nnfolder "archive"
7412 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7413 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7414 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7417 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7419 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7420 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7421 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7423 This variable can be:
7427 Messages will be saved in that group.
7428 @item a list of strings
7429 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7430 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7431 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7433 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7438 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7440 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7443 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7445 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7448 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7450 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7451 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7452 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7453 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7458 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7459 '((if (message-news-p)
7464 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7465 messages in one file per month:
7468 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7469 '((if (message-news-p)
7471 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7472 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7475 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7476 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7477 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7478 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7479 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7480 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7481 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7482 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7483 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7484 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7486 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
7487 way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
7488 should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
7491 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7492 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7495 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7496 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7497 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7498 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7499 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7502 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7503 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7504 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7509 @c @node Posting Styles
7510 @c @section Posting Styles
7511 @c @cindex posting styles
7514 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7516 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7517 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7518 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7521 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7522 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7523 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7524 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7525 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7530 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7531 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7533 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7534 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7535 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7538 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7539 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7540 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7541 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7542 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7543 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7544 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7545 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7547 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7548 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7549 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7550 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7551 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7552 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7555 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7556 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7557 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7558 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7559 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7562 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7563 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7564 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7566 @c So here's a new example:
7569 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7571 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7572 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7573 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7574 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7576 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7577 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7578 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7579 @c (posting-from-work-p
7580 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7581 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7582 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7584 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7591 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7592 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7593 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7594 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7595 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7597 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7598 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7599 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7600 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7601 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7605 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7606 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7607 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7608 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7609 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7610 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7611 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7612 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7614 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7617 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7618 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7619 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7620 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7621 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7622 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7623 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7624 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7625 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7626 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7627 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7628 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7629 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7630 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7632 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7633 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7634 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7636 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7637 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7638 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7639 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7640 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7642 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7645 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7646 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7647 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7648 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7649 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7652 @c @node Rejected Articles
7653 @c @section Rejected Articles
7654 @c @cindex rejected articles
7656 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7657 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7658 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7659 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7661 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7662 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7663 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7664 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7665 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7667 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7668 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7669 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7672 @node Select Methods
7673 @chapter Select Methods
7674 @cindex foreign groups
7675 @cindex select methods
7677 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7678 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7679 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7680 personal mail group.
7682 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7683 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7684 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7685 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7686 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7687 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7689 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7690 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7692 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7695 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7696 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7697 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7698 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7699 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7701 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7704 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7705 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7706 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7707 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7708 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7712 @node The Server Buffer
7713 @section The Server Buffer
7715 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7716 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7717 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7718 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7719 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7720 backend represents a virtual server.
7722 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7723 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7724 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7725 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7727 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7728 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7729 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7730 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7731 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7732 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7733 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7735 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7736 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7739 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7740 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7741 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7742 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7743 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7744 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7747 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7748 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7751 @node Server Buffer Format
7752 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7753 @cindex server buffer format
7755 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7756 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7757 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7758 variable, with some simple extensions:
7763 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7766 The name of this server.
7769 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7772 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7775 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7776 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7777 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7788 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7791 @node Server Commands
7792 @subsection Server Commands
7793 @cindex server commands
7799 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7800 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7804 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7805 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7808 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7809 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7810 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7814 @findex gnus-server-exit
7815 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7819 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7820 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7824 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7825 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7829 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7830 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7834 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7835 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7839 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7840 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7841 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7847 @node Example Methods
7848 @subsection Example Methods
7850 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7853 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7856 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7862 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7863 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7866 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7867 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7869 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7870 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
7874 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7877 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7878 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7880 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7881 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7882 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7886 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7889 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7892 Here's the method for a public spool:
7896 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7897 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7901 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7902 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7904 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7905 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7907 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7908 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7909 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7911 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7913 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7914 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7915 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7916 will contain the following:
7926 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7927 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7928 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7931 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7932 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7933 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7936 @node Servers and Methods
7937 @subsection Servers and Methods
7939 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7940 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7941 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7942 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7946 @node Unavailable Servers
7947 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7949 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7950 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7951 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7952 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7953 actually the case or not.
7955 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7956 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7957 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7958 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7959 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7960 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7961 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7962 regard that server as ``down''.
7964 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7965 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7967 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7968 with the following commands:
7974 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7975 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7976 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7980 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7981 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7982 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7986 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7987 Mark the current server as unreachable
7988 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7991 @kindex M-o (Server)
7992 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
7993 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
7994 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
7997 @kindex M-c (Server)
7998 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
7999 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8000 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8004 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8005 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
8006 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8012 @section Getting News
8013 @cindex reading news
8014 @cindex news backends
8016 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8017 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8018 or it can read from a local spool.
8021 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8022 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8027 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8030 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8031 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8032 server as the, uhm, address.
8034 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8035 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8036 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8037 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8039 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8040 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8041 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8043 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8048 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8049 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8050 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8052 @cindex authentification
8053 @cindex nntp authentification
8054 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8055 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8056 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
8057 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
8058 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
8059 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
8061 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8062 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8063 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8064 server. Available functions include:
8067 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8068 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8069 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
8070 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8072 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8073 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8074 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8076 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8077 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8078 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8079 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8082 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8083 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8084 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8085 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8086 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8089 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8093 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8095 The default value is
8098 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8099 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8102 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8103 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8105 @item nntp-maximum-request
8106 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8107 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8108 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8109 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8110 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8111 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8112 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8114 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8115 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8116 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8117 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8118 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8119 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8120 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8121 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8122 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8123 no timeouts are done.
8125 @item nntp-command-timeout
8126 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8127 @cindex PPP connections
8128 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8129 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8130 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8131 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8132 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8133 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8134 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8135 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8136 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8137 likely number is 30 seconds.
8139 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8140 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8141 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8142 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8145 @item nntp-server-hook
8146 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8147 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8150 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8151 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8152 @item nntp-open-server-function
8153 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
8154 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8155 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8156 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8157 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8158 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8160 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8161 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8162 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8163 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
8164 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8166 @item nntp-end-of-line
8167 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8168 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8169 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8170 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8172 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8173 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8174 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8178 @vindex nntp-address
8179 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8181 @item nntp-port-number
8182 @vindex nntp-port-number
8183 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8186 @item nntp-buggy-select
8187 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8188 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8190 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8191 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8192 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8193 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8194 can be used automatically.
8196 @item nntp-xover-commands
8197 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8200 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8201 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8205 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8206 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8207 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8208 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8209 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8210 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8211 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8212 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8213 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8214 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8215 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8217 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8218 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8219 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8221 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8222 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8223 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8224 server closes connection.
8230 @subsection News Spool
8234 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8235 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8236 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8239 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8240 anything else) as the address.
8242 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8243 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8244 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8245 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8249 @item nnspool-inews-program
8250 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8251 Program used to post an article.
8253 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8254 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8255 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8257 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8258 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8259 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8260 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8262 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8263 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8264 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8265 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8267 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8268 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8269 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8271 @item nnspool-active-file
8272 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8273 The path of the active file.
8275 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8276 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8277 The path of the group descriptions file.
8279 @item nnspool-history-file
8280 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8281 The path of the news history file.
8283 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8284 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8285 The path of the active date file.
8287 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8288 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8289 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8292 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8293 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8295 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8296 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8297 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8303 @section Getting Mail
8304 @cindex reading mail
8307 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8311 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8312 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8313 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8314 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8315 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8316 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8317 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8318 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8319 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8320 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8321 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8325 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8326 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8328 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8329 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8330 and things will happen automatically.
8332 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8333 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8336 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8337 '((nnml "private")))
8340 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8341 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8342 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8343 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8344 like any other group.
8346 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8349 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8350 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8351 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8355 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8356 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8357 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8360 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8361 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8362 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8365 @node Splitting Mail
8366 @subsection Splitting Mail
8367 @cindex splitting mail
8368 @cindex mail splitting
8370 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8371 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8372 to be split into groups.
8375 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8376 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8377 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8381 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8382 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8383 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8384 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8385 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8387 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8388 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8391 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8392 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8393 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8394 mail belongs in that group.
8396 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8397 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8398 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8400 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8401 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8402 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8403 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8404 thinks should carry this mail message.
8406 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8407 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8408 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8409 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8411 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8412 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8413 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8414 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8415 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8417 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8420 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8421 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8422 links. If that's the case for you, set
8423 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8424 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8426 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8427 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8428 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8429 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8431 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8432 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8433 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8434 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8435 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8436 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8437 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8438 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8442 @node Mail Backend Variables
8443 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8445 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8449 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8450 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8451 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8452 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8454 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8455 @item nnmail-spool-file
8459 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8460 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8461 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8462 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8463 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8464 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8465 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8466 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8467 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8468 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8469 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8470 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8471 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8472 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8473 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8475 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
8476 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8479 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8480 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8481 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8482 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8483 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8484 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8486 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8487 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8488 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8489 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8490 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8491 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8492 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8495 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8496 @item nnmail-crash-box
8497 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8498 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8499 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8502 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8503 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8504 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8505 used for, well, anything, really.
8507 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8508 @item nnmail-split-hook
8509 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8510 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8511 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8512 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8513 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8514 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8515 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8516 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8518 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8519 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8520 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8521 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8522 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8523 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8524 starting to handle the new mail) and
8525 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8526 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8527 default file modes the new mail files get:
8530 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8531 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8533 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8534 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8537 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8538 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8539 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8540 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8541 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8542 it will be used instead.
8544 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8545 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8546 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8547 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8549 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8550 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8553 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8554 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8555 @cindex incoming mail files
8556 @cindex deleting incoming files
8557 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8558 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8559 default for reasons of security.
8561 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8562 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8563 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8564 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8565 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8567 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8569 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8570 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8571 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8572 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8573 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8576 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8577 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8579 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8584 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8585 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8586 @cindex mail splitting
8587 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8589 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8590 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8591 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8592 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8593 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8594 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8596 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8599 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8600 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8601 ;; from real errors.
8602 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8604 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8605 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8606 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8607 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8608 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8609 ;; Other mailing lists...
8610 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8611 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8613 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8614 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8618 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8619 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8620 the five possible split syntaxes:
8625 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8628 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8629 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8630 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8634 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8635 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8636 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8637 be stored in one or more groups.
8640 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8641 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8644 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8645 this message anywhere.
8649 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8650 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8651 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8654 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8655 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8656 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8657 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8658 the cdr contains a string.
8660 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8661 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8662 when all this splitting is performed.
8665 @node Mail and Procmail
8666 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8671 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8672 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8673 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8674 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8675 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8677 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8678 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8681 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8682 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8683 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8684 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8685 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8686 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8688 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8691 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8693 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8694 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8696 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8697 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8698 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8699 to include all your mail groups.
8701 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8702 method will be created automatically.
8704 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8705 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8706 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8707 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8708 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8709 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8710 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8711 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8713 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8714 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8715 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8716 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8717 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8719 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8720 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8721 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8722 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8723 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8726 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
8727 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
8728 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
8729 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
8730 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
8733 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
8734 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
8735 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
8736 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
8737 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
8741 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8742 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8744 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8745 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8746 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8749 Doing so can be quite easy.
8751 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8752 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8753 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8754 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8755 your @code{nnml} groups.
8761 Go to the group buffer.
8764 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8765 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8768 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8771 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8775 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8776 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8779 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8780 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8781 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8782 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8783 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8785 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8786 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8787 using the new mail backend.
8791 @subsection Expiring Mail
8792 @cindex article expiry
8794 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8795 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8796 different approach to mail reading.
8798 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8799 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8800 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8801 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8802 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8803 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8806 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8807 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8808 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8809 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8810 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8811 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8812 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8813 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8815 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8816 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8817 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8818 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8819 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8820 column in the summary buffer.
8822 Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
8823 articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
8824 will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
8825 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
8826 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
8828 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8829 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8832 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8833 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8836 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8837 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8839 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
8840 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
8841 doesn't really mix very well.
8843 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8844 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8845 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8847 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8848 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8849 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8850 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8853 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8855 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8857 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8859 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8861 ((string= group "important")
8867 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8868 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8870 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8871 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8872 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8875 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8876 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8878 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8879 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8880 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8881 easier for procmail users.
8883 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8884 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8885 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8886 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8887 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8888 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8889 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8890 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8891 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8892 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8893 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8894 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8895 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8898 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
8902 @subsection Washing Mail
8903 @cindex mail washing
8904 @cindex list server brain damage
8905 @cindex incoming mail treatment
8907 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
8908 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
8909 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
8910 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
8911 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
8912 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
8914 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
8915 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
8916 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
8919 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
8920 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
8921 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
8922 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
8925 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8926 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8927 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
8928 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
8931 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8932 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8933 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
8934 Emacs running on MS machines.
8938 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8939 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8940 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
8941 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
8944 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8945 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8946 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
8947 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
8949 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8950 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8951 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
8952 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
8953 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
8954 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
8955 also be a list of regexp.
8957 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
8958 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
8961 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
8962 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
8965 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
8966 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
8967 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
8971 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8972 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8973 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
8977 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
8978 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
8979 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
8986 @subsection Duplicates
8988 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8989 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8990 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8991 @cindex duplicate mails
8992 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8993 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8994 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8995 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
8996 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8997 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8998 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8999 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9000 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9001 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9002 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9003 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
9004 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
9005 duplicate of a different message.
9007 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9008 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9009 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9010 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9012 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9015 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9016 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9020 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9021 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9022 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9023 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9024 (any mail "mail.misc")
9031 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9032 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9037 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9038 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9039 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9040 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9041 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9044 @node Not Reading Mail
9045 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9047 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9048 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9049 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9051 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9052 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9054 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9055 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9056 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9057 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9058 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9059 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9060 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9061 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9062 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9063 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9064 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9066 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9067 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9071 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9072 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9074 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9075 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9076 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9079 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9080 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9081 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9082 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9083 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9088 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9090 @cindex unix mail box
9092 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9093 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9094 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9095 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9096 which group it belongs in.
9098 Virtual server settings:
9101 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9102 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9103 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9105 @item nnmbox-active-file
9106 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9107 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9109 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9110 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9111 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9117 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9121 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9122 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9123 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9124 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9125 article to say which group it belongs in.
9127 Virtual server settings:
9130 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9131 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9132 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9134 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9135 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9136 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9138 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9139 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9140 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9145 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9147 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9149 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9150 format. It should be used with some caution.
9152 @vindex nnml-directory
9153 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9154 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9155 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9156 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9158 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9161 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9162 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9163 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9164 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9165 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9166 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9167 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9168 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9170 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9171 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9172 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9173 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9175 Virtual server settings:
9178 @item nnml-directory
9179 @vindex nnml-directory
9180 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9182 @item nnml-active-file
9183 @vindex nnml-active-file
9184 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9186 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9187 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9188 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9191 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9192 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9193 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9195 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9196 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9197 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9199 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9200 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9201 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9203 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9204 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9205 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9209 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9210 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9211 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9212 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9213 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9214 might take a while to complete.
9218 @subsubsection MH Spool
9220 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9222 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9223 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9224 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9225 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9227 Virtual server settings:
9230 @item nnmh-directory
9231 @vindex nnmh-directory
9232 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9234 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9235 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9236 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9239 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9240 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9241 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9242 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9243 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9244 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9245 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9250 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9252 @cindex mbox folders
9253 @cindex mail folders
9255 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9256 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9257 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9260 Virtual server settings:
9263 @item nnfolder-directory
9264 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9265 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9267 @item nnfolder-active-file
9268 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9269 The name of the active file.
9271 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9272 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9273 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9275 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9276 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9277 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9280 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9281 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9282 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9283 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9284 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9285 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9289 @section Other Sources
9291 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9292 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9296 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9297 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9298 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9299 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9300 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9301 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9305 @node Directory Groups
9306 @subsection Directory Groups
9308 @cindex directory groups
9310 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9311 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9314 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9315 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9316 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9318 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9319 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9320 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9321 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9322 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9324 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9326 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9327 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9328 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9329 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9332 @node Anything Groups
9333 @subsection Anything Groups
9336 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9337 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9338 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9341 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9342 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9343 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9344 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9345 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9346 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9347 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9348 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9349 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9350 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9353 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9354 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9355 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9356 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9358 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9359 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9360 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9361 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9363 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9364 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9365 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9366 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9367 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9368 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9369 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9370 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9375 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9376 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9377 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9378 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9380 @item nneething-exclude-files
9381 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9382 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9383 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9385 @item nneething-map-file
9386 @vindex nneething-map-file
9387 Name of the map files.
9391 @node Document Groups
9392 @subsection Document Groups
9394 @cindex documentation group
9397 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9398 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9405 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9410 The standard Unix mbox file.
9412 @cindex MMDF mail box
9414 The MMDF mail box format.
9417 Several news articles appended into a file.
9420 @cindex rnews batch files
9421 The rnews batch transport format.
9422 @cindex forwarded messages
9431 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9432 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9433 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9435 @item standard-digest
9436 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9439 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9442 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9443 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9444 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9447 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9448 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9449 group. And that's it.
9451 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9452 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9453 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9454 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9455 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9456 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9457 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9458 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9459 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9460 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9462 Virtual server variables:
9465 @item nndoc-article-type
9466 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9467 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9468 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9469 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9471 @item nndoc-post-type
9472 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9473 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9474 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9479 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9483 @node Document Server Internals
9484 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9486 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9487 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9488 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9489 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9491 First, here's an example document type definition:
9495 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9496 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9499 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9500 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9501 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9502 types can be defined with very few settings:
9506 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9507 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9511 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9512 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9514 @item head-begin-function
9515 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9518 @item nndoc-head-begin
9519 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9522 @item nndoc-head-end
9523 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9524 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9526 @item body-begin-function
9527 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9531 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9534 @item body-end-function
9535 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9539 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9541 @item nndoc-file-end
9542 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9543 regexp will be totally ignored.
9547 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9548 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9549 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9550 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9551 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9554 @item prepare-body-function
9555 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9556 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9557 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9559 @item article-transform-function
9560 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9561 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9562 body of the article.
9564 @item generate-head-function
9565 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9566 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9567 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9568 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9572 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9577 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9578 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9579 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9580 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9582 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9583 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9584 (subtype digest guess))
9587 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9588 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9589 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9590 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9591 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9593 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9594 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9595 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9596 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9597 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9598 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9599 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9600 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9601 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9602 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9603 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9611 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9612 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9613 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9615 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9616 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9617 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9620 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9621 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9622 that interested in doing things properly.
9624 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9625 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9628 First some terminology:
9633 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
9634 get news and/or mail from.
9637 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
9638 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
9641 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
9645 @item message packets
9646 These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
9647 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
9648 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9650 @item response packets
9651 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
9652 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
9653 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9663 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9664 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
9665 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
9666 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
9669 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9672 You put the packet in your home directory.
9675 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
9676 the native or secondary server.
9679 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9680 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
9683 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9687 You transfer this packet to the server.
9690 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9693 You then repeat until you die.
9697 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9698 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9701 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9702 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9703 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9708 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9710 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
9714 @kindex G s b (Group)
9715 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9716 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9717 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9718 process/prefix convention.
9721 @kindex G s w (Group)
9722 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9723 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9726 @kindex G s s (Group)
9727 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9728 Send all replies from the replies packet
9729 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9732 @kindex G s p (Group)
9733 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9734 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9737 @kindex G s r (Group)
9738 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9739 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9742 @kindex O s (Summary)
9743 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9744 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9745 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9746 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9751 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9756 @item gnus-soup-directory
9757 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9758 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9759 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9761 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9762 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9763 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9764 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
9766 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9767 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9768 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9771 @item gnus-soup-packer
9772 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9773 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9774 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9776 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9777 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9778 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9779 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9781 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9782 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9783 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9785 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9786 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9787 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9788 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9794 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9797 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9798 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9799 you can read them at leisure.
9801 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9805 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9806 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9807 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9808 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9810 @item nnsoup-directory
9811 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9812 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9813 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9815 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9816 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9817 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9818 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9820 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9821 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9822 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9823 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9824 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9826 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9827 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9828 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9829 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9831 @item nnsoup-active-file
9832 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9833 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9834 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9835 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9836 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9839 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9840 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9841 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9843 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9844 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9845 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9846 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9848 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9849 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9850 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9853 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9854 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9855 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9862 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9864 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9865 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9866 more for that to happen.
9868 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9869 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9870 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9873 In specific, this is what it does:
9876 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9877 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9880 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9881 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9882 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9886 @subsection Web Searches
9891 @cindex Usenet searches
9892 @cindex searching the Usenet
9894 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9895 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9896 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9897 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9898 searches without having to use a browser.
9900 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
9901 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
9902 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
9903 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
9904 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
9906 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
9907 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
9908 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
9909 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
9910 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
9911 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
9912 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
9913 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
9914 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
9915 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
9916 read the group as read.
9918 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
9919 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
9920 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
9921 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
9922 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
9923 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
9925 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
9926 to use @code{nnweb}.
9928 Virtual server variables:
9933 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
9934 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
9937 @vindex nnweb-search
9938 The search string to feed to the search engine.
9940 @item nnweb-max-hits
9941 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
9942 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
9945 @item nnweb-type-definition
9946 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
9947 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
9948 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
9953 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
9957 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
9960 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
9963 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
9967 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
9974 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
9975 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
9976 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
9979 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
9980 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
9981 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
9983 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
9989 @item nngateway-address
9990 @vindex nngateway-address
9991 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
9993 @item nngateway-header-transformation
9994 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
9995 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
9996 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
9997 transformation should be called, and defaults to
9998 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
9999 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10002 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10003 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
10004 @code{Newsgroups} header:
10007 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10010 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10013 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10018 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10021 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10025 @node Combined Groups
10026 @section Combined Groups
10028 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10032 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10033 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10037 @node Virtual Groups
10038 @subsection Virtual Groups
10040 @cindex virtual groups
10042 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10045 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
10046 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10047 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10049 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10050 regexp to match component groups.
10052 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10053 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10054 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10055 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10056 the virtual group.)
10058 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10059 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10062 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10065 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10066 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10068 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10069 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10070 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10071 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10074 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10077 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10078 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10079 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10080 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10081 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
10083 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
10084 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10085 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10087 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10088 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10089 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10090 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10091 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10092 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10093 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10094 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
10095 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10096 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10097 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10100 @node Kibozed Groups
10101 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10105 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10106 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10107 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10108 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10110 @kindex G k (Group)
10111 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10114 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10115 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10116 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10117 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
10119 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10120 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
10121 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10123 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10124 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10125 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10126 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10127 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10128 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
10129 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10130 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10132 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10133 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10134 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10135 Stranger things have happened.
10137 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10138 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10140 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10141 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10142 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10143 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10144 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10145 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10148 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10149 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10156 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10157 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10158 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10161 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10162 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10163 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10164 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10165 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10167 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10168 before generating the summary buffer.
10170 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10171 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10172 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10174 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10175 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10176 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10177 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10180 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10181 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10182 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10183 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10184 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10185 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
10186 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10187 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10188 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10189 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10190 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10191 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10192 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
10193 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10194 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10195 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10199 @node Summary Score Commands
10200 @section Summary Score Commands
10201 @cindex score commands
10203 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10204 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10205 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10206 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10207 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10209 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10210 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10211 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10212 score file the current one.
10214 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10219 @kindex V s (Summary)
10220 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10221 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10224 @kindex V S (Summary)
10225 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10226 Display the score of the current article
10227 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10230 @kindex V t (Summary)
10231 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10232 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10233 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10236 @kindex V R (Summary)
10237 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10238 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10239 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10240 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10241 effect you're having.
10244 @kindex V a (Summary)
10245 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10246 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10247 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10250 @kindex V c (Summary)
10251 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10252 Make a different score file the current
10253 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10256 @kindex V e (Summary)
10257 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10258 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10259 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10263 @kindex V f (Summary)
10264 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10265 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10266 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10269 @kindex V F (Summary)
10270 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10271 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10272 after editing score files.
10275 @kindex V C (Summary)
10276 @findex gnus-score-customize
10277 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10278 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10281 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10282 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10283 Increase the score of the current article
10284 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10287 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10288 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10289 Lower the score of the current article
10290 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10293 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10298 @kindex V m (Summary)
10299 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10300 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10301 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10304 @kindex V x (Summary)
10305 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10306 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10307 expunge all articles below this score
10308 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10311 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10312 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10317 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10318 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10320 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10321 keys are available:
10325 Score on the author name.
10328 Score on the subject line.
10331 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10334 Score on thread---the References line.
10340 Score on the number of lines.
10343 Score on the Message-ID.
10346 Score on followups.
10356 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10357 what headers you are scoring on.
10369 Substring matching.
10401 Greater than number.
10406 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10407 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10408 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10412 Temporary score entry.
10415 Permanent score entry.
10418 Immediately scoring.
10423 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10424 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10425 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10426 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10428 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10429 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10430 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10431 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10432 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10434 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10435 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10436 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10439 @node Group Score Commands
10440 @section Group Score Commands
10441 @cindex group score commands
10443 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10448 @kindex W f (Group)
10449 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10450 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10451 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10452 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10457 @node Score Variables
10458 @section Score Variables
10459 @cindex score variables
10463 @item gnus-use-scoring
10464 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10465 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10466 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10468 @item gnus-kill-killed
10469 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10470 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10471 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10472 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10473 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10474 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10475 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10477 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10478 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10479 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10480 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10481 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10483 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10484 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10485 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10486 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10488 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10489 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10490 @cindex score cache
10491 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10492 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10493 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10494 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10495 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10496 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10497 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10500 @item gnus-save-score
10501 @vindex gnus-save-score
10502 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10503 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10504 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10506 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10507 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10508 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10509 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10510 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10511 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10512 manually entered data.
10514 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10515 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10516 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10518 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10519 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10520 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10521 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10523 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10524 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10525 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10526 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10528 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10529 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10530 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10531 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10533 Predefined functions available are:
10536 @item gnus-score-find-single
10537 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10538 Only apply the group's own score file.
10540 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10541 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10542 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10543 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10544 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10545 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10546 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10547 then a regexp match is done.
10549 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10550 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10552 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10553 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10554 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10555 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10557 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10558 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10559 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10560 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10561 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10564 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10565 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10566 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10567 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10568 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10569 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10572 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10573 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10574 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10575 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10576 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10578 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10579 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10580 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10581 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10582 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10583 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10584 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10587 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10588 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10589 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10594 @node Score File Format
10595 @section Score File Format
10596 @cindex score file format
10598 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10599 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10600 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10602 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10606 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10608 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10610 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10612 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10617 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10621 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10622 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10623 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10624 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10628 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10630 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10631 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10632 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10634 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10639 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10640 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10641 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10642 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10643 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10644 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10645 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10646 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10647 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10648 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10649 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10650 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10651 to articles that matches these score entries.
10653 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10654 score entry has one to four elements.
10658 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10659 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10663 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10664 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10665 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10666 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10667 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10668 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10671 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10672 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10673 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10674 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10675 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10678 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10679 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10680 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10681 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10684 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10685 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10686 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10687 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10688 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10689 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10690 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10691 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10692 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10693 instead, if you feel like.
10696 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10697 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
10698 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
10699 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
10700 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
10701 the articles with few lines.
10704 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10705 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10706 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10707 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10708 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10709 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10710 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10714 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10715 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10716 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
10717 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
10718 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
10719 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
10720 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
10721 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
10724 @item Head, Body, All
10725 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10729 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
10730 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
10731 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
10732 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
10733 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
10734 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
10738 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
10739 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
10740 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
10741 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
10742 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
10743 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
10744 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
10745 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
10746 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
10747 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
10752 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10753 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10756 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10757 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10759 @item mark-and-expunge
10760 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10761 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10764 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10765 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10766 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10767 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10768 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10771 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10772 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10775 @item exclude-files
10776 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
10777 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10781 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10782 ignored when handling global score files.
10785 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10786 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10789 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10790 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10791 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10792 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10794 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10798 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10801 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10802 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10803 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10804 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10805 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10807 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10808 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10809 ordinary scoring rules.
10812 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10813 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10814 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10815 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10816 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10817 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10818 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10819 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10820 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10821 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10822 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10826 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10827 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10828 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10829 file for a number of groups.
10832 @cindex local variables
10833 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10834 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10835 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10836 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10841 @node Score File Editing
10842 @section Score File Editing
10844 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10845 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10846 with a mode for that.
10848 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10849 additional commands:
10854 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10855 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10856 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10857 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10860 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10861 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10862 Insert the current date in numerical format
10863 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10864 you were wondering.
10867 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10868 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10869 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10870 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10871 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10876 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10878 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10879 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10881 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10882 e} to begin editing score files.
10885 @node Adaptive Scoring
10886 @section Adaptive Scoring
10887 @cindex adaptive scoring
10889 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10890 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10891 stupidity, to be precise.
10893 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10894 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10895 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10896 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10897 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10898 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10899 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10900 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10901 variable to @code{(word line)}.
10903 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10904 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
10905 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
10906 might look something like this:
10909 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10910 '((gnus-unread-mark)
10911 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
10912 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
10913 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
10914 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
10915 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
10916 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
10917 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
10918 (gnus-ancient-mark)
10919 (gnus-low-score-mark)
10920 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
10923 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
10924 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
10925 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
10926 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
10927 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
10928 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
10931 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
10932 will be applied to each article.
10934 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
10935 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
10936 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
10937 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
10939 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
10940 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
10941 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
10942 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
10944 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
10945 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
10946 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
10947 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
10949 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
10950 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
10951 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
10952 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10953 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10954 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10956 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10957 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10958 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10959 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10960 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10961 aspirins afterwards.)
10963 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
10964 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
10965 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
10967 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10968 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10969 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10971 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10972 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10973 let you use different rules in different groups.
10975 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10976 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10977 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10980 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10981 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10982 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10983 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10984 the length of the match is less than
10985 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10986 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10989 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10990 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
10991 headers. If you adapt on words, the
10992 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
10993 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
10996 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10997 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
10998 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
10999 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
11000 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
11003 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
11004 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
11005 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
11006 score with 30 points.
11008 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
11009 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
11010 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
11011 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
11012 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
11014 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
11015 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
11016 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
11017 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
11019 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
11020 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
11021 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
11024 @node Home Score File
11025 @section Home Score File
11027 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
11028 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
11029 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
11030 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
11032 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
11033 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
11034 could perhaps use the same home score file.
11036 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
11037 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
11042 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
11046 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
11047 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
11051 A list. The elements in this list can be:
11055 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
11056 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
11059 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
11060 the home score file.
11063 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
11066 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
11071 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
11074 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11075 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
11078 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
11079 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
11082 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11083 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
11086 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
11088 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
11089 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
11090 their own home score files:
11093 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11094 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
11095 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
11096 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
11097 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
11100 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
11101 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
11102 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
11103 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
11104 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
11106 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
11107 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
11108 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
11109 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
11110 precedence over this variable.
11113 @node Followups To Yourself
11114 @section Followups To Yourself
11116 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
11117 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
11118 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
11119 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
11120 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
11121 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
11125 @item gnus-score-followup-article
11126 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
11127 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
11130 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
11131 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
11132 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
11136 @vindex message-sent-hook
11137 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
11138 @code{message-sent-hook}.
11140 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
11141 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11145 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11146 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11149 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11150 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11155 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
11158 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11159 is system-dependent.
11163 @section Scoring Tips
11164 @cindex scoring tips
11170 @cindex scoring crossposts
11171 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11172 the @code{Xref} header.
11174 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11177 @item Multiple crossposts
11178 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11179 more than, say, 3 groups:
11181 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11184 @item Matching on the body
11185 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11186 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11187 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11188 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11189 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11190 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11191 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11194 @item Marking as read
11195 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11196 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11197 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11201 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11203 @item Negated character classes
11204 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11205 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11206 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11210 @node Reverse Scoring
11211 @section Reverse Scoring
11212 @cindex reverse scoring
11214 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11215 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11216 like this in your score file:
11220 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11225 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11226 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11229 @node Global Score Files
11230 @section Global Score Files
11231 @cindex global score files
11233 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11234 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11235 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11237 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11238 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11239 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11241 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11242 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11243 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11244 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11245 files are applicable to which group.
11247 Say you want to use the score file
11248 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11249 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11252 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11253 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11254 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11257 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11258 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11259 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11260 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11261 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11263 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11264 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11266 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11267 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11268 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11269 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11270 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11271 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11273 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11279 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11281 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11283 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11285 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11286 lowered out of existence.
11288 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11289 articles completely.
11292 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11293 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11294 old articles for a long time.
11297 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11298 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11299 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11300 holding our breath yet?
11304 @section Kill Files
11307 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11308 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11309 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11311 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11312 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11313 files into score files.
11315 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11316 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11317 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11318 that isn't a very good idea.
11320 Normal kill files look like this:
11323 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11324 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11328 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11329 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11331 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11332 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11335 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11340 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11341 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11342 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11345 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11346 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11347 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11350 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11355 @kindex M-k (Group)
11356 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11357 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11360 @kindex M-K (Group)
11361 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11362 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11365 Kill file variables:
11368 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11369 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11370 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11371 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11372 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11373 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11374 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11376 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11377 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11378 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11379 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11382 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11383 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11384 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11385 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11386 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11387 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11388 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11389 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11390 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11392 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11393 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11394 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11399 @node Converting Kill Files
11400 @section Converting Kill Files
11402 @cindex converting kill files
11404 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
11405 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
11406 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
11409 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
11410 You can fetch it from
11411 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
11413 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
11414 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
11415 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
11423 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11424 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11425 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11427 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11428 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11429 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11430 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11431 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11432 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11433 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11434 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11438 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11439 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11440 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11441 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11445 @node Using GroupLens
11446 @subsection Using GroupLens
11448 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11450 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11451 better bit in town is at the moment.
11453 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11457 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11458 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11459 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11460 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11462 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11463 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11464 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11465 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11467 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11468 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11469 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11473 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11474 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11475 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11476 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11477 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11478 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11481 @node Rating Articles
11482 @subsection Rating Articles
11484 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11485 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11486 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11487 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11490 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11495 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11496 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11497 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11500 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11501 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11502 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11503 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11504 threads in rec.humor.
11508 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11509 the score of the article you're reading.
11514 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11515 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11516 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11519 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11520 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11521 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11525 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11526 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11529 @node Displaying Predictions
11530 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11532 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11533 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11534 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11535 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11536 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11538 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11539 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11540 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11541 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11542 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11543 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11544 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11545 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11546 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11547 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11548 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11549 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11550 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11552 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11553 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11554 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11555 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11557 The following are legal values for that variable.
11560 @item prediction-spot
11561 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11564 @item confidence-interval
11565 A numeric confidence interval.
11567 @item prediction-bar
11568 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11570 @item confidence-bar
11571 Numerical confidence.
11573 @item confidence-spot
11574 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11576 @item prediction-num
11577 Plain-old numeric value.
11579 @item confidence-plus-minus
11580 Prediction +/i confidence.
11585 @node GroupLens Variables
11586 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11590 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11591 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11592 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11593 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11594 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11596 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11597 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11600 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11601 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11603 @item grouplens-score-offset
11604 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11605 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11608 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11609 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11610 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11615 @node Advanced Scoring
11616 @section Advanced Scoring
11618 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11619 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11620 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11621 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11622 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11624 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11628 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11629 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11630 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11634 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11635 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11637 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11638 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11639 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11640 non-@code{nil} value.
11642 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11643 operator, and various match operators.
11650 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11651 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11652 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11657 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11658 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11659 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11664 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11665 inverse of the value of its argument.
11669 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11670 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11671 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11672 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11673 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11674 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11675 the ancestry you want to go.
11677 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11678 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11679 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11680 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11681 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11684 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11685 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11687 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11688 when he's talking about Gnus:
11692 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11693 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11699 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11703 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11710 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11711 really don't want to read what he's written:
11715 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11716 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11720 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11721 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11722 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11729 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11730 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11731 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11732 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11736 The possibilities are endless.
11739 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11740 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11742 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11743 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11744 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11745 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11746 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11747 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11748 @samp{subject}) first.
11750 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11751 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11762 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11763 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11769 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11776 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11777 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11782 @section Score Decays
11783 @cindex score decays
11786 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11787 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11788 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11789 use them in any sensible way.
11791 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11792 @findex gnus-decay-score
11793 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11794 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11795 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11796 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11797 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11798 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11799 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11800 definition of that function:
11803 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11806 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11808 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11810 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11813 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11814 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11815 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11816 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11820 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11823 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11826 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11830 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11831 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11832 the new score, which should be an integer.
11834 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11835 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11842 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11843 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11844 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11845 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11846 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11847 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11848 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11849 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11850 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11851 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11852 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11853 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
11854 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11855 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
11856 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11860 @node Process/Prefix
11861 @section Process/Prefix
11862 @cindex process/prefix convention
11864 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11865 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11867 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11868 command to be performed on.
11872 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11873 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11874 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11875 with the current one.
11877 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11878 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11879 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11881 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11882 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11885 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11886 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11888 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11891 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11892 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11893 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11894 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11896 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11897 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11898 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11899 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11900 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11901 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
11902 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
11903 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
11907 @section Interactive
11908 @cindex interaction
11912 @item gnus-novice-user
11913 @vindex gnus-novice-user
11914 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
11915 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
11916 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
11917 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
11920 @item gnus-expert-user
11921 @vindex gnus-expert-user
11922 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
11923 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
11924 matter how strange.
11926 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
11927 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
11928 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
11929 is @code{t} by default.
11931 @item gnus-interactive-exit
11932 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
11933 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11938 @node Formatting Variables
11939 @section Formatting Variables
11940 @cindex formatting variables
11942 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
11943 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
11944 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
11945 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
11946 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
11949 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
11950 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
11951 lots of percentages everywhere.
11954 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
11955 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
11956 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
11957 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
11960 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
11961 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
11962 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
11963 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
11964 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
11965 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
11966 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
11967 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
11969 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
11970 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
11972 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
11973 @findex gnus-update-format
11974 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
11975 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
11976 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
11977 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
11981 @node Formatting Basics
11982 @subsection Formatting Basics
11984 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
11985 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
11986 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
11988 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
11989 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
11990 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
11991 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
11992 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
11995 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
11996 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
11997 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
11998 less than 4 characters wide.
12001 @node Advanced Formatting
12002 @subsection Advanced Formatting
12004 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
12005 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
12006 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
12007 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
12009 These are the legal modifiers:
12014 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
12018 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
12023 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
12026 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
12031 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
12034 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
12037 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
12040 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
12044 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
12045 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
12046 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
12047 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
12048 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
12049 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
12050 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
12052 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
12053 last operation, padding.
12055 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
12056 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
12057 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
12058 @xref{Compilation}.
12061 @node User-Defined Specs
12062 @subsection User-Defined Specs
12064 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
12065 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
12066 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
12067 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
12068 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
12069 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
12070 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
12071 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
12072 should protect against that.
12074 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
12075 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
12076 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
12077 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
12081 @node Formatting Fonts
12082 @subsection Formatting Fonts
12084 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
12085 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
12086 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
12087 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
12090 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
12091 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
12092 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
12093 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
12094 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
12095 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
12097 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
12100 ;; Create three face types.
12101 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
12102 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
12104 ;; We want the article count to be in
12105 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
12106 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
12107 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
12109 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
12110 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
12112 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
12113 (setq gnus-group-line-format
12114 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
12117 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
12118 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
12120 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
12121 mode-line variables.
12124 @node Windows Configuration
12125 @section Windows Configuration
12126 @cindex windows configuration
12128 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
12130 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
12131 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
12132 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
12133 @code{t} by default.
12135 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
12136 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
12137 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
12140 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
12141 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
12142 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12146 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
12147 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
12148 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
12149 possible names is listed below.
12151 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
12152 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
12155 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12159 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
12160 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
12161 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
12162 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
12163 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
12164 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12165 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12166 size spec per split.
12168 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12171 Here's a more complicated example:
12174 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12175 (summary 0.25 point)
12176 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12180 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12181 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12182 occupy, not a percentage.
12184 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12185 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12186 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12187 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12188 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12191 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12194 (article (horizontal 1.0
12199 (summary 0.25 point)
12204 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12205 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12207 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12208 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12209 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12210 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12211 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12213 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12214 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12215 lines from the splits.
12217 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12221 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12222 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12223 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12224 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12225 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12226 size = number | frame-params
12227 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12230 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12231 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12232 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12233 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12235 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12236 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12237 @cindex window height
12238 @cindex window width
12239 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12240 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12241 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12242 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12243 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12244 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12246 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12247 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12248 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12249 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12251 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12252 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12253 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12254 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12255 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12256 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12257 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12258 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12259 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12260 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12261 configuration list.
12264 (gnus-configure-frame
12268 (article 0.3 point))
12276 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12277 @code{frame} split:
12280 (gnus-configure-frame
12283 (summary 0.25 point)
12285 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12286 (user-position . t)
12287 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12292 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12293 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12294 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12295 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12296 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12297 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12300 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12301 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12303 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12304 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12305 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12306 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12307 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
12308 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12310 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12311 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12312 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12316 (message (horizontal 1.0
12317 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12319 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12324 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12325 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12326 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12327 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12328 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12331 (gnus-add-configuration
12332 '(article (vertical 1.0
12334 (summary .25 point)
12338 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12339 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12340 Gnus has been loaded.
12342 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12343 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12344 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12345 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12346 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12350 @section Compilation
12351 @cindex compilation
12352 @cindex byte-compilation
12354 @findex gnus-compile
12356 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12357 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12358 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12359 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12360 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12361 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12364 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12365 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12366 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12367 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12368 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12369 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12370 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12374 @section Mode Lines
12377 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12378 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12379 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12380 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12381 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12382 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12383 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12386 @cindex display-time
12388 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12389 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12390 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12391 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12392 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12393 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12394 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12395 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12398 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12400 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12401 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12403 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12404 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12405 (length display-time-string)))))
12408 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12409 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12412 @node Highlighting and Menus
12413 @section Highlighting and Menus
12415 @cindex highlighting
12418 @vindex gnus-visual
12419 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12420 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12421 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12424 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12425 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12428 @item group-highlight
12429 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12430 @item summary-highlight
12431 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12432 @item article-highlight
12433 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12435 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12437 Create menus in the group buffer.
12439 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12441 Create menus in the article buffer.
12443 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12445 Create menus in the server buffer.
12447 Create menus in the score buffers.
12449 Create menus in all buffers.
12452 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12453 buffers, you could say something like:
12456 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12459 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12462 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12465 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12466 in all Gnus buffers.
12468 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12471 @item gnus-mouse-face
12472 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12473 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12474 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12476 @item gnus-display-type
12477 @vindex gnus-display-type
12478 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
12479 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
12480 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
12481 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
12482 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12484 @item gnus-background-mode
12485 @vindex gnus-background-mode
12486 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
12487 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
12488 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
12489 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12490 `gnus-display-type'.
12493 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12497 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12498 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12499 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12501 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12502 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12503 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12505 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12506 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12507 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12509 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12510 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12511 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12513 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12514 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12515 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12517 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12518 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12519 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12530 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12531 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12532 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12533 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12534 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12538 @vindex gnus-carpal
12539 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12540 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12541 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12546 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12547 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12548 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12550 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12551 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12552 Face used on buttons.
12554 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12555 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12556 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12558 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12559 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12560 Buttons in the group buffer.
12562 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12563 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12564 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12566 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12567 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12568 Buttons in the server buffer.
12570 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12571 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12572 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12575 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12576 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12577 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12585 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12586 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12587 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12588 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12589 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12591 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12592 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12593 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12595 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12596 been idle for thirty minutes:
12599 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12602 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12606 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12609 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12610 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12611 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12613 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12614 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12615 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12616 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12618 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12619 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12620 @var{idle} minutes.
12622 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12623 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12626 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12627 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12628 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12630 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12631 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12632 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12633 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12635 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12636 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12637 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12639 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12640 your @file{.gnus} file:
12642 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12644 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12647 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12648 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12649 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12650 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12651 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12652 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12653 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12654 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12656 @findex gnus-demon-init
12657 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12658 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12659 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12660 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12661 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12663 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12664 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12665 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12674 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12675 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12677 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12678 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12679 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12680 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12683 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12684 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12685 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12686 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12688 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12689 this will make spam disappear.
12691 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12694 @item gnus-use-nocem
12695 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12696 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12699 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12700 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12701 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12702 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12704 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12705 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12706 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12707 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12708 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12709 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12711 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12714 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12715 @cindex Chris Lewis
12716 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12717 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12720 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12721 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12722 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12724 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12726 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
12729 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12730 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12731 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12734 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12735 ones you want to listen to.
12737 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12738 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12739 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12740 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12742 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12743 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12744 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12745 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12746 might then see old spam.
12754 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12755 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12756 over your shoulder as you read news.
12759 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12760 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12761 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12762 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12763 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12768 @subsection Picon Basics
12770 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
12773 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12774 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12775 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12776 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12777 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12778 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12779 @code{GIF} formats.
12782 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
12783 your Web browser at
12784 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12786 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12787 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12788 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12791 @node Picon Requirements
12792 @subsection Picon Requirements
12794 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12795 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12798 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12800 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12801 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12802 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12803 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12807 @subsection Easy Picons
12809 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12810 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12813 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12814 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12815 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12816 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12821 @subsection Hard Picons
12823 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12824 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12825 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12826 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12827 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12831 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12832 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12833 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12834 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12835 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12836 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12837 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12838 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
12842 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12843 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12845 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12846 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12847 displayed at the right time.
12849 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12850 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12852 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12853 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12854 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12855 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12856 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12858 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12859 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12860 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12861 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12862 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12863 is set to @code{article}.
12865 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12866 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12867 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12868 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12872 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12873 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12876 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12880 @node Picon Configuration
12881 @subsection Picon Configuration
12883 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12884 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12885 don't need to worry about.
12888 @item gnus-picons-database
12889 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12890 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12891 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12892 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12894 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12895 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12896 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12899 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12900 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12901 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
12902 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
12904 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
12905 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
12906 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
12907 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
12908 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
12910 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12911 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12912 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
12913 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
12914 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
12915 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
12917 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12918 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12919 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
12920 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
12922 @item gnus-picons-buffer
12923 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
12924 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
12925 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
12934 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
12935 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
12936 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
12938 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
12939 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
12940 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
12941 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
12942 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
12943 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
12944 @code{undo} function.
12946 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
12947 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
12948 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
12949 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
12950 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
12951 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
12952 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
12953 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
12954 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
12955 never be totally undoable.
12957 @findex gnus-undo-mode
12958 @vindex gnus-use-undo
12960 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
12961 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
12962 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
12963 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
12968 @section Moderation
12971 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
12972 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
12973 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
12976 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
12980 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
12983 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
12985 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
12990 You split your incoming mail by matching on
12991 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
12992 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
12995 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
12996 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
12999 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
13000 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
13004 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
13007 (setq gnus-moderated-list
13008 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
13012 @node XEmacs Enhancements
13013 @section XEmacs Enhancements
13016 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
13017 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
13020 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13021 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13022 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
13023 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
13024 unusual directory structure.
13026 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13027 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13028 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
13029 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
13031 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13032 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13033 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
13034 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
13035 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
13036 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
13038 @item gnus-use-toolbar
13039 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
13040 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
13041 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
13042 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
13044 @item gnus-group-toolbar
13045 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
13046 The toolbar in the group buffer.
13048 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
13049 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
13050 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
13052 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13053 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13054 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
13056 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13057 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13058 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
13064 @node Various Various
13065 @section Various Various
13071 @item gnus-directory
13072 @vindex gnus-directory
13073 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
13074 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
13075 if that variable isn't set.
13077 @item gnus-default-directory
13078 @vindex gnus-default-directory
13079 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
13080 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
13081 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
13082 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13083 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
13084 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
13087 @vindex gnus-verbose
13088 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
13089 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
13090 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
13091 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
13092 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
13094 @item gnus-verbose-backends
13095 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
13096 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
13097 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
13099 @item nnheader-max-head-length
13100 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
13101 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
13102 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
13103 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
13104 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
13105 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
13106 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
13107 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
13110 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
13111 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
13112 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
13113 the operation described above.
13115 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13116 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13118 @cindex illegal characters in file names
13119 @cindex characters in file names
13120 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
13121 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
13122 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
13125 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13129 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
13130 Windows (phooey) systems.
13132 @item gnus-hidden-properties
13133 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
13134 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
13135 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
13136 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
13138 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
13139 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
13140 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
13141 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
13142 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
13144 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
13145 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
13146 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
13155 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
13156 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
13158 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
13160 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13166 Not because of victories @*
13169 but for the common sunshine,@*
13171 the largess of the spring.
13175 but for the day's work done@*
13176 as well as I was able;@*
13177 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13178 but at the common table.@*
13183 @chapter Appendices
13186 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13187 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13188 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13189 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13190 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13191 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13192 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13200 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13201 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13203 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13204 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13205 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13206 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13207 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13209 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13210 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13211 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13212 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13213 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13214 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13216 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13217 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13218 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13219 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13221 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
13222 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
13224 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
13225 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
13227 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
13229 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
13230 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Mamey Sapote Gnus''
13231 -- don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
13232 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
13233 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
13237 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13238 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13239 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13240 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13241 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13242 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13243 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13250 What's the point of Gnus?
13252 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13253 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13254 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13255 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13256 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13257 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13258 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13259 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13260 keep track of millions of people who post?
13262 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13263 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13264 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13265 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13266 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13267 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13268 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13269 of you to explore and invent.
13271 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13274 @node Compatibility
13275 @subsection Compatibility
13277 @cindex compatibility
13278 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13279 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13280 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13285 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13289 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13292 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13295 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13296 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13297 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13298 important variables have their values copied into their global
13299 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13300 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13302 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13303 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13304 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13305 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13306 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13310 @cindex highlighting
13311 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13312 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13313 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13314 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13315 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13316 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13319 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13320 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13321 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13322 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13324 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13325 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13326 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13327 to stop doing it the old way.
13329 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13331 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13333 @cindex reporting bugs
13335 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13336 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13337 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13341 @subsection Conformity
13343 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13344 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13351 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13355 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13357 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13358 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13359 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13360 the next inspection.
13362 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13363 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13364 We do have some breaches to this one.
13369 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13370 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13373 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13374 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13375 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13376 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13377 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13380 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
13381 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
13382 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
13383 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
13384 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
13385 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
13390 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13391 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13396 @subsection Emacsen
13402 Gnus should work on :
13407 Emacs 19.32 and up.
13410 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
13413 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
13417 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13418 reliably, at least.
13420 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
13421 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
13422 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
13427 @subsection Contributors
13428 @cindex contributors
13430 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13431 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13432 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13433 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13434 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13435 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13436 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13437 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13438 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13439 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13441 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13447 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13450 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13451 well as numerous other things).
13454 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13457 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
13460 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13461 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13464 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13465 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13468 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13471 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13474 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13477 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13480 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13481 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13484 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13487 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13490 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13493 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13497 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13500 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13503 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13506 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13510 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13519 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13523 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13534 Massimo Campostrini,
13538 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13552 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
13553 Francois Felix Ingrand,
13557 Thor Kristoffersen,
13568 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
13574 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
13582 Randal L. Schwartz,
13599 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
13602 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13605 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13606 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13610 @subsection New Features
13611 @cindex new features
13614 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13615 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13616 * Red Gnus:: The future---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
13619 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13620 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13621 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13625 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13627 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13632 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13633 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13636 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13637 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13640 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13643 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13644 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13645 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13648 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13649 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13650 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13651 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13654 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13655 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13658 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13659 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13660 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13663 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13664 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13667 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13668 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13669 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13672 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13673 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
13674 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
13677 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
13678 the @file{.emacs} file.
13681 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
13682 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13685 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
13686 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
13689 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
13690 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13693 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
13694 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
13697 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
13698 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13701 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
13704 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
13705 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
13708 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
13709 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
13712 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
13713 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
13716 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
13719 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
13720 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13723 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
13727 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
13731 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
13732 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
13735 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
13741 @node September Gnus
13742 @subsubsection September Gnus
13744 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
13749 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
13750 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
13754 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
13755 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
13759 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
13763 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
13764 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
13767 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
13771 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13774 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
13777 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
13780 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
13784 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
13785 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
13788 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
13792 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
13796 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
13800 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
13804 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
13807 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
13808 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
13811 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
13815 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
13816 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
13819 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
13822 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
13823 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
13824 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13827 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
13831 The Gnus cache is much faster.
13834 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
13838 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
13839 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13842 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
13843 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
13846 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
13847 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13850 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
13851 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
13852 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
13855 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
13856 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
13859 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
13862 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13865 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13866 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
13870 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
13873 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
13876 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
13877 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
13880 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
13884 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
13887 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
13890 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
13894 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13897 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
13901 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
13904 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
13907 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
13908 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13911 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
13912 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
13916 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
13917 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
13920 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
13924 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
13925 buffer to allow easier treatment.
13928 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
13931 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
13935 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
13939 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
13940 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
13943 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
13947 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
13948 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13951 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
13952 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13955 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
13959 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13962 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13963 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
13967 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
13970 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
13976 @subsubsection Red Gnus
13978 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
13983 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
13986 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
13987 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13990 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
13991 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
13995 Article washing status can be displayed in the
13996 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
13999 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
14002 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
14003 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
14006 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
14010 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
14011 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
14014 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
14015 Server Internals}).
14018 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
14022 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
14025 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
14026 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
14029 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
14030 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
14031 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
14034 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
14035 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14038 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
14039 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
14042 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
14046 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
14047 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14050 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
14051 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14054 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
14058 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
14061 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
14065 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
14066 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14069 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
14070 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14073 A new command for reading collections of documents
14074 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
14075 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
14078 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
14082 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
14083 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
14086 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
14087 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
14088 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
14091 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
14092 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
14096 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
14100 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
14104 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
14108 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
14112 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
14113 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
14118 @node Newest Features
14119 @subsection Newest Features
14122 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
14125 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
14129 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
14131 Really do unbinhexing.
14134 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
14135 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
14137 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
14138 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
14139 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
14144 @section The Manual
14148 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
14149 either @code{texi2dvi}
14151 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
14152 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
14154 to get what you hold in your hands now.
14156 The following conventions have been used:
14161 This is a @samp{string}
14164 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
14167 This is a @file{file}
14170 This is a @code{symbol}
14174 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14178 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14181 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14184 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14187 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14188 ever get them confused.
14192 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14193 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14194 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14195 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14196 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14197 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14198 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14205 @section Terminology
14207 @cindex terminology
14212 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14213 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14214 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14215 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14216 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14220 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14221 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14222 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14223 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14227 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14231 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14236 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14237 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14238 is all done by the backends.
14242 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14243 default, way of getting news.
14247 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14248 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14252 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14253 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14257 A message that has been posted as news.
14260 @cindex mail message
14261 A message that has been mailed.
14265 A mail message or news article
14269 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14274 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14279 A line from the head of an article.
14283 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14284 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14288 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14289 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14290 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14291 normal @sc{head} format.
14295 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14296 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14297 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14298 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14299 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14300 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14302 @item killed groups
14303 @cindex killed groups
14304 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14305 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14307 @item zombie groups
14308 @cindex zombie groups
14309 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14312 @cindex active file
14313 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14314 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14315 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14318 @cindex bogus groups
14319 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14320 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14321 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14325 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14327 @item select method
14328 @cindex select method
14329 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14332 @item virtual server
14333 @cindex virtual server
14334 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14335 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14336 whole is a virtual server.
14340 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14341 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14344 @item ephemeral groups
14345 @cindex ephemeral groups
14346 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14347 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14348 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14351 @cindex solid groups
14352 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14353 group buffer are solid groups.
14358 @node Customization
14359 @section Customization
14360 @cindex general customization
14362 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14363 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14364 for some quite common situations.
14367 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14368 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14369 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14370 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14374 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14375 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14377 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14378 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14379 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14383 @item gnus-read-active-file
14384 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14385 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14386 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
14387 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14388 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14390 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14391 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14392 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14393 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14397 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14398 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14400 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14401 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14402 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14406 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14407 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14408 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14409 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14410 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14412 @item gnus-visible-headers
14413 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14414 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14415 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14416 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14418 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14419 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14421 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14422 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14423 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14426 @item gnus-use-full-window
14427 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14428 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14429 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14430 want to read them anyway.
14432 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14433 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14436 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14437 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14438 lines, which might save some time.
14442 @node Little Disk Space
14443 @subsection Little Disk Space
14446 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14447 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14451 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14452 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14453 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14454 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14457 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14458 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14459 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14460 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14461 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14467 @subsection Slow Machine
14468 @cindex slow machine
14470 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14471 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14473 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14474 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14476 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14477 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14478 summary buffer faster.
14480 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14481 processing a bit faster.
14484 @node Troubleshooting
14485 @section Troubleshooting
14486 @cindex troubleshooting
14488 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14496 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14499 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14500 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14504 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14505 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14506 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14507 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14510 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14514 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14515 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14516 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14517 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14518 something like that.
14521 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14524 @cindex reporting bugs
14526 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14528 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14529 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14530 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14531 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14533 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14534 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14535 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14536 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14539 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14540 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14541 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14542 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14543 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14544 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14546 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14547 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14548 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14551 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14552 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14554 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14555 @cindex ding mailing list
14556 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14557 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14560 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14561 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14563 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14564 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14565 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14566 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14569 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14570 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14571 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14572 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14573 and general method of operations.
14576 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14577 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14578 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14579 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14580 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14581 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14582 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14586 @node Backend Interface
14587 @subsection Backend Interface
14589 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14590 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14591 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14592 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14593 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14594 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14596 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14597 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14598 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14599 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14600 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14601 been opened, the function should fail.
14603 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14604 name. Take this example:
14608 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14609 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14612 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14613 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14615 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14616 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14617 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14619 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14620 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14621 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14623 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14624 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14625 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14626 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14627 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14628 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14631 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14632 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14633 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14634 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14637 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14640 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14643 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14644 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14645 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14646 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14647 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14648 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
14652 @node Required Backend Functions
14653 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14657 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14659 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14660 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14661 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
14662 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
14664 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
14665 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
14666 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
14667 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
14669 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
14670 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
14671 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
14672 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
14673 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
14674 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
14675 number, do maximum fetches.
14677 Here's an example HEAD:
14680 221 1056 Article retrieved.
14681 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
14682 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
14683 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
14684 Subject: Re: Something very droll
14685 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
14686 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
14688 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
14689 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
14690 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
14694 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
14695 these in the data buffer.
14697 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
14701 head = error / valid-head
14702 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
14703 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
14704 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
14705 header = <text> eol
14708 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
14709 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
14713 nov-buffer = *nov-line
14714 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
14715 field = <text except TAB>
14718 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
14722 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
14724 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
14725 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
14727 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
14728 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
14729 server. In fact, it should do so.
14731 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
14732 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
14735 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
14737 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
14738 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
14741 There should be no data returned.
14744 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
14746 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
14747 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
14748 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
14749 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
14751 There should be no data returned.
14754 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
14756 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
14757 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
14758 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
14759 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
14761 There should be no data returned.
14764 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
14766 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
14768 There should be no data returned.
14771 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
14773 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
14774 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
14775 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
14776 it would be nice if that were possible.
14778 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
14779 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
14780 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
14781 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
14782 its article buffer.
14784 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
14785 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
14786 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
14787 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
14788 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
14789 on successful article retrievement.
14792 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14794 Make @var{group} the current group.
14796 There should be no data returned by this function.
14799 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
14801 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
14802 making @var{group} the current group.
14804 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
14807 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
14810 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
14813 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
14814 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
14815 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
14816 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
14817 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
14818 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
14819 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
14820 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
14823 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
14824 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
14825 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
14829 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14831 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
14832 a no-op on most backends.
14834 There should be no data returned.
14837 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
14839 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
14842 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
14845 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
14846 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
14849 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
14850 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
14853 active-file = *active-line
14854 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
14856 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
14859 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
14860 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
14861 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
14864 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
14866 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
14867 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
14868 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
14869 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
14870 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
14871 clear if the posting could not be completed.
14873 There should be no result data from this function.
14878 @node Optional Backend Functions
14879 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
14883 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
14885 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
14886 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
14887 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
14889 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
14890 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
14891 former is in the same format as the data from
14892 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
14893 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
14896 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
14900 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
14902 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
14903 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
14904 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
14905 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
14906 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
14907 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
14909 There should be no result data from this function.
14912 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
14914 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
14915 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
14916 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
14917 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
14918 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
14919 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
14920 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
14921 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
14923 There should be no result data from this function.
14926 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
14928 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
14929 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
14930 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
14931 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
14932 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
14934 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
14935 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
14936 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
14939 There should be no result data from this function.
14942 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
14944 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
14945 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
14946 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
14947 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
14948 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
14949 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
14950 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
14952 There should be no result data from this function.
14955 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
14957 The result data from this function should be a description of
14961 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
14963 description = <text>
14966 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
14968 The result data from this function should be the description of all
14969 groups available on the server.
14972 description-buffer = *description-line
14976 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
14978 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
14979 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
14980 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
14983 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14985 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
14987 There should be no return data.
14990 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
14992 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
14993 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
14994 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
14995 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
14996 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
14999 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
15002 There should be no result data returned.
15005 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
15008 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
15009 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
15011 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
15012 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
15013 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
15014 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
15015 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
15016 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
15018 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
15019 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
15022 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15023 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15025 There should be no data returned.
15028 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
15030 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
15031 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
15032 this function in short order.
15034 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15035 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15037 There should be no data returned.
15040 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
15042 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
15043 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
15045 There should be no data returned.
15048 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
15050 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
15051 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
15052 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
15054 There should be no data returned.
15057 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
15059 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
15060 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
15062 There should be no data returned.
15067 @node Error Messaging
15068 @subsubsection Error Messaging
15070 @findex nnheader-report
15071 @findex nnheader-get-report
15072 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
15073 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
15074 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
15075 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
15076 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
15077 This function always returns @code{nil}.
15080 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
15082 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
15085 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
15086 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
15087 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
15088 takes one argument---the server symbol.
15090 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
15091 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
15092 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
15095 @node Writing New Backends
15096 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
15098 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
15099 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
15100 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
15101 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
15102 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
15105 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
15106 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
15107 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
15109 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
15110 package called @code{nnoo}.
15112 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
15113 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
15120 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
15121 parameters. For instance:
15124 (nnoo-declare nndir
15128 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
15129 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
15132 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
15133 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
15134 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
15136 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
15137 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
15138 a function in those backends.
15141 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15142 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15143 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15146 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
15147 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
15148 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
15150 @item nnoo-define-basics
15151 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
15155 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15159 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
15160 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
15161 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
15163 @item nnoo-map-functions
15164 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
15165 functions from the parent backends.
15168 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15169 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15170 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15173 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15174 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15175 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15176 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15179 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15180 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15181 haven't already been defined.
15187 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15191 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15192 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15193 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15198 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15201 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15202 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15206 (require 'nnheader)
15210 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15212 (nnoo-declare nndir
15215 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15216 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15217 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15219 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15220 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15223 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15224 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15225 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15227 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15228 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15230 ;;; Interface functions.
15232 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15234 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15235 (setq nndir-directory
15236 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15238 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15239 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15240 (push `(nndir-current-group
15241 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15243 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15244 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15246 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15248 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15249 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15250 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15251 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15252 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15256 nnmh-status-message
15258 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15264 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15265 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15267 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15268 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15269 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15270 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15272 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15273 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15278 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15281 The abilities can be:
15285 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15287 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15289 This backend supports both mail and news.
15291 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15294 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15295 articles and groups.
15297 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15298 true for almost all backends.
15299 @item prompt-address
15300 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15301 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15302 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15306 @node Mail-like Backends
15307 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
15309 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
15310 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
15311 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
15312 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
15315 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
15316 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
15317 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
15320 It simply just calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will a few parameters,
15321 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
15324 This function takes four parameters.
15328 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
15331 @item exit-function
15332 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
15334 @item temp-directory
15335 Where the temporary files should be stored.
15338 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
15339 performed for one group only.
15342 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
15343 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
15344 find the article number assigned to this article.
15346 The function also uses the following variables:
15347 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
15348 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
15349 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
15350 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
15354 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
15355 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
15359 @node Score File Syntax
15360 @subsection Score File Syntax
15362 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15363 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15364 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15366 Here's a typical score file:
15370 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15377 BNF definition of a score file:
15380 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15381 element = rule / atom
15382 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15383 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15384 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15385 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15387 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15388 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15389 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15390 date-header = "date"
15391 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15392 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15393 score = "nil" / <integer>
15394 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15395 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15396 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15397 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15398 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15399 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15400 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15401 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15402 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15403 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15404 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15405 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15406 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15407 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15408 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15409 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15410 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15411 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15412 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15413 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15414 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15415 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15416 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15417 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15418 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15419 eval = "eval" space <form>
15420 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15423 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15426 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15427 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15428 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15429 one looong line, then that's ok.
15431 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15436 @subsection Headers
15438 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15439 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15440 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15441 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15443 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15444 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15445 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15446 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15447 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15448 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15449 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15451 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15452 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15453 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15454 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15455 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15457 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15464 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15465 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15467 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15468 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15469 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15470 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15472 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15476 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15479 is transformed into
15482 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15485 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15486 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15489 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15492 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15493 is slightly tricky:
15496 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15502 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15505 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15511 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15518 and is equal to the previous range.
15520 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15521 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15522 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15526 range = simple-range / normal-range
15527 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15528 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15529 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15530 number *[ " " contents ]
15533 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15534 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15535 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15536 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15537 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15542 @subsection Group Info
15544 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15545 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15546 describes the group.
15548 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15549 second is a more complex one:
15552 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15554 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15555 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15557 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15560 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15561 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15562 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15563 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15564 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15565 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15566 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15568 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15569 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15570 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15572 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15575 info = "(" group space level space read
15576 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15577 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15578 group = quote <string> quote
15579 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15581 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15582 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15583 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15584 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15587 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15588 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15592 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15593 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15597 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15598 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15599 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15601 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15602 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15603 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15604 Gnus, that's very useful.
15606 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15607 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15608 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15609 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15610 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15611 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15612 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15613 following function:
15616 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15620 (,function ,@@args))
15624 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15625 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15626 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15629 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15630 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15631 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15634 @node Various File Formats
15635 @subsection Various File Formats
15638 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15639 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15643 @node Active File Format
15644 @subsubsection Active File Format
15646 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15647 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15650 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15653 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15654 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15655 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15656 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15657 no.general 1000 900 y
15660 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15663 active = *group-line
15664 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15665 group = <non-white-space string>
15667 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15668 low-number = <positive integer>
15669 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
15673 @node Newsgroups File Format
15674 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
15676 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
15677 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
15678 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
15681 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
15682 Here's the definition:
15686 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
15687 group = <non-white-space string>
15689 description = <string>
15693 @node Emacs for Heathens
15694 @section Emacs for Heathens
15696 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
15697 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
15698 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
15699 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
15700 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
15701 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
15702 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
15706 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
15707 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
15712 @subsection Keystrokes
15716 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
15719 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
15722 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
15723 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
15724 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
15725 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
15726 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
15727 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
15729 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
15730 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
15731 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
15732 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
15733 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
15734 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
15735 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
15737 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
15738 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
15739 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
15740 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
15741 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
15742 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
15743 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
15745 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
15746 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
15747 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
15748 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
15749 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
15755 @subsection Emacs Lisp
15757 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
15758 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
15759 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
15760 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
15762 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
15763 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
15764 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
15765 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
15766 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
15767 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
15768 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
15771 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
15772 write the following:
15775 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
15778 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
15779 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
15780 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
15783 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
15784 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
15785 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
15786 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
15787 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
15789 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
15790 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
15791 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
15795 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
15799 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
15802 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
15803 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
15806 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
15809 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
15810 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
15813 @include gnus-faq.texi