1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Red Gnus 0.24 Manual
11 @setchapternewpage odd
15 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright]{book}
16 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
17 \usepackage{pagestyle}
19 \fontfamily{bembo}\selectfont
24 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
25 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
27 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
29 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
30 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
32 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
33 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
35 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\textbf{\textsf{#1}}}}
36 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
37 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``\gnustt{#1}''}
38 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
39 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
40 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
41 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
42 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
43 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
44 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
45 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}
46 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
47 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
50 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
51 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
52 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
53 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
54 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
55 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
56 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
57 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
58 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
59 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
62 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-head.eps,height=1cm}}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
64 \marginpar[\hspace{2.5cm}\gnushead]{\gnushead}
67 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
69 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
76 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
78 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
80 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
81 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
84 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
85 \put(0,0){\makebox(480,350)[tr]{#1}}
86 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
91 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\vspace{-\itemsep}\item#1}
93 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
94 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
98 \newenvironment{codelist}%
103 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
109 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
114 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
119 \newenvironment{samplist}%
124 \newenvironment{varlist}%
129 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
134 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
135 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
136 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
138 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
143 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
147 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
156 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
158 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
163 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
168 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}
175 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}
184 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
186 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
196 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
200 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
208 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
210 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
215 \pagenumbering{roman}
216 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
226 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
227 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
229 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
231 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\\
234 \hspace*{-1cm}\epsfig{figure=gnus-big-logo.eps,height=15cm}
237 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
244 \thispagestyle{empty}
246 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
248 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
249 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
250 are preserved on all copies.
252 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
253 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
254 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
255 permission notice identical to this one.
257 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
258 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
267 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
269 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
271 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
272 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
273 are preserved on all copies.
276 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
277 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
278 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
279 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
282 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
283 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
284 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
285 permission notice identical to this one.
287 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
288 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 @title Red Gnus 0.24 Manual
296 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
299 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
300 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
302 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
303 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
304 are preserved on all copies.
306 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
307 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
308 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
309 permission notice identical to this one.
311 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
312 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
325 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
326 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
327 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
339 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
340 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
342 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
343 being accused of plagiarism:
345 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
346 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
347 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
348 even read news with it!
350 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
351 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
352 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
353 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
354 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
361 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
362 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
363 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
364 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
365 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
366 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
367 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
368 * Various:: General purpose settings.
369 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
370 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
371 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
372 * Key Index:: Key Index.
376 @chapter Starting Gnus
381 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
382 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
385 @findex gnus-other-frame
386 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
387 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
388 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
390 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
394 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
395 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
396 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
397 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
398 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
399 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
400 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
401 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
402 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
403 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
404 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
408 @node Finding the News
409 @section Finding the News
412 @vindex gnus-select-method
414 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
415 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
416 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
417 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
420 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
421 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
424 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
427 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
430 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
433 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
434 certainly be much faster.
436 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
438 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
439 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
440 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
441 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
442 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
443 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
444 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
446 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
447 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
448 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
449 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
451 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
452 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
453 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
454 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
455 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
456 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
458 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
460 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
461 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
462 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
463 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
464 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
465 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
467 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
469 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
470 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
471 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
472 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
473 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
474 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
477 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
478 would typically set this variable to
481 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
486 @section The First Time
487 @cindex first time usage
489 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
490 be subscribed by default.
492 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
493 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
494 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
495 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
498 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
499 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
500 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
502 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
503 help you with most common problems.
505 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
506 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
510 @node The Server is Down
511 @section The Server is Down
512 @cindex server errors
514 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
515 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
516 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
518 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
519 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
520 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
521 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
522 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
523 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
524 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
526 @findex gnus-no-server
527 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
529 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
530 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
531 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
532 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
533 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
534 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
539 @section Slave Gnusae
542 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
543 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
544 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
545 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
547 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
550 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
551 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
552 @dfn{servants}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
553 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
554 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
555 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
556 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
558 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
559 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
560 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
561 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
562 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
563 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
564 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
565 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
567 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
568 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
571 @node Fetching a Group
572 @section Fetching a Group
573 @cindex fetching a group
575 @findex gnus-fetch-group
576 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
577 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
578 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
579 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
580 It takes the group name as a parameter.
588 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
589 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
590 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
592 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
597 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
598 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
599 Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later (with
600 @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them.
603 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
604 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
605 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
607 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
608 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
609 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
611 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
612 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
613 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
614 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
615 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
616 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
617 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
618 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
619 up. Or something like that.
621 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
622 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
623 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
624 you about @strong{all} new groups.
626 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
627 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
632 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
633 A closely related variable is
634 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
635 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
636 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
637 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
640 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
641 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
642 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
644 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
645 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
646 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
649 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
652 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
653 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
654 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
655 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
656 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
657 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
658 subscribing these groups.
659 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
660 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
662 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
663 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
664 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
665 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
666 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
667 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
668 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
669 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
671 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
672 Yet another variable that meddles here is
673 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
674 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
675 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
676 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
677 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
678 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
679 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
680 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
682 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
683 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
684 you could set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
685 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
686 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
687 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
688 is @code{t} by default.
690 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
691 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
692 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
693 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
694 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
695 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
696 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
697 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
698 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
699 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
701 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
702 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
703 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
704 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
705 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
706 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
707 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
708 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
709 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
710 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
711 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
713 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
714 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
715 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
716 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
717 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
718 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
721 @node Changing Servers
722 @section Changing Servers
723 @cindex changing servers
725 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
726 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
727 very flakey and you want to use another.
729 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
730 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
734 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
735 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
736 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
737 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
740 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
741 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
742 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
743 functions more than absolutely necessary.
745 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
746 @findex gnus-change-server
747 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
748 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
749 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
750 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
751 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
753 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
754 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
755 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
756 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
757 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
759 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
760 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
761 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
762 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
763 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
764 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
768 @section Startup Files
769 @cindex startup files
774 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
775 information is traditionally stored in this file.
777 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
778 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
779 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
780 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
781 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
782 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
783 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
785 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
786 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
787 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
788 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
790 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
791 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
792 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
793 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
794 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
795 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
797 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
798 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
799 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
800 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
801 will also means that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
802 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
803 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
804 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
805 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
806 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
807 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
808 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
810 @vindex gnus-startup-file
811 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
812 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
813 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
815 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
816 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
817 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
818 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
819 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
820 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
821 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
822 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
823 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
824 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
827 (defun turn-off-backup ()
828 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
830 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
831 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
834 @vindex gnus-init-file
835 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
836 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
837 (@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
838 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
839 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
847 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
848 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
849 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
850 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
851 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
854 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
855 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
858 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
859 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
860 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
862 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
863 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
864 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
865 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
866 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
867 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
870 @node The Active File
871 @section The Active File
873 @cindex ignored groups
875 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
876 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
877 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
879 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
880 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
881 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
882 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
883 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
884 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
885 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
888 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
889 @c if you set it to anything else.
891 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
893 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
894 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
895 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
897 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
898 you actually subscribe to.
900 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
901 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
902 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
903 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
905 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
906 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
907 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
908 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
909 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
910 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
912 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
913 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
914 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
915 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
916 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
917 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
919 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
920 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
923 @node Startup Variables
924 @section Startup Variables
929 @vindex gnus-load-hook
930 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
931 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
932 times you start Gnus.
934 @item gnus-startup-hook
935 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
936 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
938 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
939 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
940 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
941 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
942 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
943 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
944 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
945 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
947 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
948 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
949 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
950 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead of doing
953 @item gnus-no-groups-message
954 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
955 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
959 @node The Group Buffer
960 @chapter The Group Buffer
963 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
964 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
965 long as Gnus is active.
968 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
969 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
970 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
971 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
972 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
973 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
974 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
975 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
976 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
977 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
978 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
979 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
980 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
981 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
982 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
983 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
987 @node Group Buffer Format
988 @section Group Buffer Format
991 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
992 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
993 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
997 @node Group Line Specification
998 @subsection Group Line Specification
999 @cindex group buffer format
1001 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1002 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1004 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1007 25: news.announce.newusers
1008 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1013 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1014 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1015 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1016 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1018 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1019 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1020 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1021 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1022 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1023 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1025 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1027 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1028 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1029 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1030 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1033 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1034 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1035 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1037 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1042 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1045 Whether the group is subscribed.
1048 Level of subscribedness.
1051 Number of unread articles.
1054 Number of dormant articles.
1057 Number of ticked articles.
1060 Number of read articles.
1063 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1064 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1067 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1070 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1079 Newsgroup description.
1082 @samp{m} if moderated.
1085 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1094 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1098 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1101 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1102 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1103 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1104 The default is @code{1}.
1107 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1108 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1109 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1110 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current headers as
1111 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
1112 into the buffer just like information from any other specifier.
1116 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1117 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1118 group, or a bogus (or semi-bogus) native group.
1121 @node Group Modeline Specification
1122 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1123 @cindex group modeline
1125 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1126 The mode line can be changed by setting
1127 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1128 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1132 The native news server.
1134 The native select method.
1138 @node Group Highlighting
1139 @subsection Group Highlighting
1140 @cindex highlighting
1141 @cindex group highlighting
1143 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1144 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1145 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1146 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1147 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1149 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1153 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1155 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1156 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1157 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1159 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1161 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1163 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1167 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1174 The number of unread articles in the group.
1178 Whether the group is a mail group.
1180 The level of the group.
1182 The score of the group.
1184 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1186 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1189 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1190 topic being inserted.
1193 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1194 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1195 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1197 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1198 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1199 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1200 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1201 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1204 @node Group Maneuvering
1205 @section Group Maneuvering
1206 @cindex group movement
1208 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1209 expected, hopefully.
1215 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1216 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1217 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1223 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1224 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1225 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1229 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1230 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1234 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1235 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1239 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1240 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1241 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1245 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1246 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1247 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1250 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1256 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1257 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1258 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1263 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1264 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1265 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1269 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1270 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1271 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1274 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1275 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1276 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1277 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1281 @node Selecting a Group
1282 @section Selecting a Group
1283 @cindex group selection
1288 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1289 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1290 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1291 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1292 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1293 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1294 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, Gnus
1295 will fetch @var{N} number of articles. If @var{N} is positive, fetch
1296 the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is negative, fetch the
1297 @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1301 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1302 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1303 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1304 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1305 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1309 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1310 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1311 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1312 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1313 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1314 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1315 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1316 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1317 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1321 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1322 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1323 This is yet one more command that does the same as the one above, but
1324 this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1325 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1329 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1330 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1331 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1332 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1333 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1338 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1339 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1340 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1344 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1345 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1346 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1348 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1349 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1350 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1351 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1352 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1353 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1358 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1359 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1360 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1361 unread articles than this, Gnus will query the user before entering the
1362 group. The user can then specify how many articles should be fetched
1363 from the server. If the user specifies a negative number (@code{-n}),
1364 the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the
1365 @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will be fetched.
1367 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1368 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1369 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1370 automatically when entering a group.
1375 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1376 full summary buffer.
1379 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1382 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1386 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1387 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1388 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1392 @node Subscription Commands
1393 @section Subscription Commands
1394 @cindex subscription
1402 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1403 Toggle subscription to the current group
1404 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1410 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1411 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1412 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1413 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1419 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1420 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1426 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1427 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1430 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1431 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1432 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1433 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1434 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1440 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1441 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1445 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1446 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1449 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1450 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1451 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1452 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1453 be used with some caution. The only thing where this command comes in
1454 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1455 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level @code{7} will
1456 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1457 @file{.newsrc} file.
1461 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1465 @section Group Levels
1469 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1470 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1471 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1472 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1473 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1475 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1481 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1482 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1483 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1484 prompted for a level.
1487 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1488 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1489 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1490 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1491 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1492 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1493 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1494 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1495 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1496 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1497 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1498 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1499 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1500 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1501 for reasons of efficiency.
1503 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1504 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1506 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1507 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1508 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1510 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1511 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1512 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1513 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1514 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1515 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1516 relevant legal ranges.
1518 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1519 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1520 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1521 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1522 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1523 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1526 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1527 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1528 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1531 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1532 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1533 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1534 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1537 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1538 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1539 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1540 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1542 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1543 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1544 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1545 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1550 @section Group Score
1553 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1554 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1555 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1558 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1559 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1560 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1561 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1562 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1563 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1564 part and the score is the least significant part.)
1566 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1567 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1568 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1569 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1570 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1571 action after each summary exit, you can add
1572 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1573 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1574 slow things down somewhat.
1577 @node Marking Groups
1578 @section Marking Groups
1579 @cindex marking groups
1581 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1582 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1583 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1584 bidding on those groups.
1586 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1587 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1588 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1596 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1597 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1603 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1604 Remove the mark from the current group
1605 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1609 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1610 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1614 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1615 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1619 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1620 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1624 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1625 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1626 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1629 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1631 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1632 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1633 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1634 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1635 the command to be executed.
1638 @node Foreign Groups
1639 @section Foreign Groups
1640 @cindex foreign groups
1642 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1643 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1644 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1645 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1652 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1653 @cindex making groups
1654 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1655 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1656 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1660 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1661 @cindex renaming groups
1662 Rename the current group to something else
1663 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1664 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1669 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1670 @cindex renaming groups
1671 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1672 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1676 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1677 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1678 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1682 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1683 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1684 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1688 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1690 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1691 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1696 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1697 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1701 @cindex (ding) archive
1702 @cindex archive group
1703 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1704 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1705 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1706 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1707 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1708 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1709 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1713 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1715 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1716 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1717 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1718 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1722 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1724 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1725 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1726 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1730 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1731 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1733 Make a group based on some file or other
1734 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1735 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1736 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1737 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1738 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1739 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1743 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1748 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1749 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1750 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1751 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1752 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1753 @xref{Web Searches}.
1756 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1757 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1758 This function will delete the current group
1759 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1760 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1761 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1762 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1766 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1767 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1768 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1772 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1773 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1774 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1777 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1780 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1781 If the @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1782 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1783 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1784 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1787 @node Group Parameters
1788 @section Group Parameters
1789 @cindex group parameters
1791 Gnus stores all information on a group in a list that is usually known
1792 as the @dfn{group info}. This list has from three to six elements.
1793 Here's an example info.
1796 ("nnml:mail.ding" 3 ((1 . 232) 244 (256 . 270)) ((tick 246 249))
1797 (nnml "private") ((to-address . "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
1800 The first element is the @dfn{group name}, as Gnus knows the group,
1801 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
1802 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
1803 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
1804 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
1805 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
1806 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
1808 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
1809 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
1810 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
1812 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1817 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1818 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1819 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1820 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1821 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1822 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1823 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1824 copies of your followups.
1826 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1827 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1828 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1829 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1830 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1831 list address instead.
1835 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1836 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1837 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1838 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1839 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1841 @item broken-reply-to
1842 @cindex broken-reply-to
1843 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1844 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1845 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1846 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1847 broken behavior. So there!
1851 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1852 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1856 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1857 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1858 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1859 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1860 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1861 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1865 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1866 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1867 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1870 @cindex total-expire
1871 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1872 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1877 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1878 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1879 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1880 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1881 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1882 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1885 @cindex score file group parameter
1886 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1887 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1888 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1891 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1892 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1893 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1894 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1897 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1898 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1899 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1900 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1903 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1904 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1908 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1911 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1916 This parameter allows you to enter a arbitrary comment on the group.
1918 @item @var{(variable form)}
1919 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1920 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1921 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1922 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1923 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1924 @code{eval}ed there.
1926 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1927 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
1928 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
1929 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
1930 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
1934 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1936 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
1939 @node Listing Groups
1940 @section Listing Groups
1941 @cindex group listing
1943 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1951 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1952 List all groups that have unread articles
1953 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1954 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1955 only lists groups of level five or lower (i.e., just subscribed groups).
1961 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1962 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1963 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
1964 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
1965 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
1966 unsubscribed groups).
1970 @findex gnus-group-list-level
1971 List all unread groups on a specific level
1972 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
1973 with no unread articles.
1977 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
1978 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
1979 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
1980 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
1985 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
1986 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
1990 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
1991 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
1992 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
1996 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
1997 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2001 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2002 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2003 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2004 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2005 to do a @kbd{A m} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2006 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2007 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2008 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2012 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2013 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2014 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2018 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2019 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2020 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2024 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2025 @cindex visible group parameter
2026 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2027 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2028 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2029 get the same effect.
2031 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2032 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2033 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2034 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2035 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2038 @node Sorting Groups
2039 @section Sorting Groups
2040 @cindex sorting groups
2042 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2043 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2044 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2045 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2046 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2047 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2052 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2053 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2054 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2056 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2057 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2058 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2060 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2061 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2062 Sort by group level.
2064 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2065 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2066 Sort by group score.
2068 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2069 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2070 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2071 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2073 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2074 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2075 Sort by number of unread articles.
2077 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2078 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2079 Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
2084 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2085 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2089 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2090 some sorting criteria:
2094 @kindex G S a (Group)
2095 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2096 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2097 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2100 @kindex G S u (Group)
2101 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2102 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2103 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2106 @kindex G S l (Group)
2107 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2108 Sort the group buffer by group level
2109 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2112 @kindex G S v (Group)
2113 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2114 Sort the group buffer by group score
2115 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2118 @kindex G S r (Group)
2119 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2120 Sort the group buffer by group level
2121 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2124 @kindex G S m (Group)
2125 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2126 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2127 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2131 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2133 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2137 @kindex G P a (Group)
2138 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2139 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2140 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2143 @kindex G P u (Group)
2144 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2145 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2146 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2149 @kindex G P l (Group)
2150 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2151 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2152 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2155 @kindex G P v (Group)
2156 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2157 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2158 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2161 @kindex G P r (Group)
2162 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2163 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2164 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2167 @kindex G P m (Group)
2168 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2169 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2170 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2176 @node Group Maintenance
2177 @section Group Maintenance
2178 @cindex bogus groups
2183 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2184 Find bogus groups and delete them
2185 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2189 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2190 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2191 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2195 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2196 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2197 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2198 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2201 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2202 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2203 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2204 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2209 @node Browse Foreign Server
2210 @section Browse Foreign Server
2211 @cindex foreign servers
2212 @cindex browsing servers
2217 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2218 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2219 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2220 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2223 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2224 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2225 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit
2226 (well, a lot) like a normal group buffer, but with one major difference
2227 - you can't enter any of the groups. If you want to read any of the
2228 news available on that server, you have to subscribe to the groups you
2229 think may be interesting, and then you have to exit this buffer. The
2230 new groups will be added to the group buffer, and then you can read them
2231 as you would any other group.
2233 Future versions of Gnus may possibly permit reading groups straight from
2236 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2241 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2242 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2246 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2247 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2250 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2251 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2252 Enter the current group and display the first article
2253 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2256 @kindex RET (Browse)
2257 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2258 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2262 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2263 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2264 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2270 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2271 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2275 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2276 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2277 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2282 @section Exiting Gnus
2283 @cindex exiting Gnus
2285 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2290 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2291 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2292 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2293 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2297 @findex gnus-group-exit
2298 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2302 @findex gnus-group-quit
2303 Quit Gnus without saving any startup files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2306 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2307 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2308 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2309 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2310 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2315 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2316 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2317 trying to customize meta-variables.
2322 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, feels her feet go
2323 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2324 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2330 @section Group Topics
2333 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2334 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2335 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2336 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2337 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2338 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2340 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2342 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2343 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2344 is a toggling command.)
2346 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2347 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2348 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2349 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2352 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2353 the hook for the group mode:
2356 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2360 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2361 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2362 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2363 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2364 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2368 @node Topic Variables
2369 @subsection Topic Variables
2370 @cindex topic variables
2372 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2373 really neat, I think.
2375 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2376 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2377 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2390 Number of groups in the topic.
2392 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2394 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2397 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2398 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2399 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2400 The default is @code{2}.
2402 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2403 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2405 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2406 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2407 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2410 @node Topic Commands
2411 @subsection Topic Commands
2412 @cindex topic commands
2414 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2415 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2416 definitions slightly.
2422 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2423 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2424 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2428 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2429 Move the current group to some other topic
2430 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2431 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2435 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2436 Copy the current group to some other topic
2437 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2438 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2442 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2443 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2444 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2445 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2449 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2450 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2451 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2455 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2456 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2457 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2461 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2462 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2463 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2466 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2467 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2468 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2469 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2473 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2475 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2476 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2477 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2478 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2479 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2480 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2483 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2484 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2485 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2486 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2487 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2491 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2492 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}).
2496 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2497 Yank the previously killed group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}).
2498 Note that all topics will be yanked before all groups.
2502 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2503 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2506 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2507 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2508 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2512 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2513 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2514 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2518 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2519 @cindex group parameters
2520 @cindex topic parameters
2522 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2523 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2529 @subsection Topic Sorting
2530 @cindex topic sorting
2532 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2538 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2539 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2540 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2541 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2544 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2545 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2546 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2547 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2550 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2551 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2552 Sort the current topic by group level
2553 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2556 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2557 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2558 Sort the current topic by group score
2559 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2562 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2563 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2564 Sort the current topic by group level
2565 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2568 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2569 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2570 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2571 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2575 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2578 @node Topic Topology
2579 @subsection Topic Topology
2580 @cindex topic topology
2583 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2589 2: alt.religion.emacs
2592 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2594 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2595 13: comp.sources.unix
2598 So, here we have one top-level topic, two topics under that, and one
2599 sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always just one (1)
2600 top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as follows:
2604 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2605 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2609 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2610 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2611 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2612 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2613 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2614 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2616 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2617 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2618 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2621 @node Topic Parameters
2622 @subsection Topic Parameters
2623 @cindex topic parameters
2625 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2626 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2627 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2629 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2630 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2631 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2632 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2638 2: alt.religion.emacs
2642 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2644 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2645 13: comp.sources.unix
2649 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2650 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2651 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2652 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2653 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2654 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2656 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2657 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2658 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2659 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2660 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2662 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2663 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2664 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2665 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2666 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2667 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2668 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2669 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2672 @node Misc Group Stuff
2673 @section Misc Group Stuff
2676 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2677 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2678 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2685 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2686 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2687 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2691 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2692 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2693 group name will be used as the default.
2697 @findex gnus-group-mail
2698 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2702 Variables for the group buffer:
2706 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2707 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2708 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2711 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2712 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2713 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2714 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2717 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2718 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2719 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2720 whether they are empty or not.
2725 @node Scanning New Messages
2726 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2727 @cindex new messages
2728 @cindex scanning new news
2734 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2735 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2736 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2737 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2738 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2743 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2744 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2745 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2746 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2747 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2748 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2750 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2751 @cindex activating groups
2753 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2754 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2759 @findex gnus-group-restart
2760 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2764 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2765 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2767 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2768 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2772 @node Group Information
2773 @subsection Group Information
2774 @cindex group information
2775 @cindex information on groups
2781 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2782 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2785 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2786 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2787 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2788 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2789 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2790 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} will be used for fetching
2793 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2794 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2798 @cindex describing groups
2799 @cindex group description
2800 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2801 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2802 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2806 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2807 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2808 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2813 @findex gnus-version
2814 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2818 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2819 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2822 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2825 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2826 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2831 @subsection File Commands
2832 @cindex file commands
2838 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2839 @vindex gnus-init-file
2840 @cindex reading init file
2841 Read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2842 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2846 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2847 @cindex saving .newsrc
2848 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2849 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2850 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2853 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2854 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2855 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2860 @node The Summary Buffer
2861 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2862 @cindex summary buffer
2864 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2865 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2868 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2869 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2870 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2871 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2872 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2873 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2874 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2875 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2876 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2877 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2878 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2879 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2880 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2881 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2882 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2883 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2884 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2885 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2886 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2887 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2888 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2889 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2890 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2891 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2892 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2893 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
2897 @node Summary Buffer Format
2898 @section Summary Buffer Format
2899 @cindex summary buffer format
2902 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
2903 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
2904 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
2907 @findex mail-extract-address-components
2908 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
2909 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
2910 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
2911 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
2912 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
2913 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
2914 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
2915 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
2916 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
2917 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
2919 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
2920 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
2921 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
2922 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
2925 @node Summary Buffer Lines
2926 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
2928 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
2929 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
2930 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
2931 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
2932 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2934 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
2936 The following format specification characters are understood:
2944 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
2945 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
2946 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
2948 Full @code{From} header.
2950 The name (from the @code{From} header).
2952 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
2953 spec in that it uses @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is
2954 slower, but may be more thorough.
2956 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
2959 Number of lines in the article.
2961 Number of characters in the article.
2963 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2965 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
2966 pushes everything after it off the screen).
2968 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{\[}, but can also be @samp{<}
2969 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2971 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{\]}, but can also be @samp{>}
2972 for adopted articles.
2974 One space for each thread level.
2976 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
2984 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
2985 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
2986 default level. If the difference between
2987 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
2988 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
2996 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
2998 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3004 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3005 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3007 A single character will be displayed if the article has any children.
3011 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3012 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3013 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3014 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3015 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3016 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3019 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3020 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3021 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3022 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3023 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3024 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3026 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3027 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3029 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3032 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3033 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3035 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3036 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3037 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. Here are the
3038 elements you can play with:
3044 Unprefixed group name.
3046 Current article number.
3050 Number of unread articles in this group.
3052 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3054 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3055 either as @samp{<%U(+%u) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3056 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3057 and no unselected ones.
3059 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3060 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3062 Subject of the current article.
3066 Name of the current score file.
3068 Number of dormant articles.
3070 Number of ticked articles.
3072 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3074 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3078 @node Summary Highlighting
3079 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3083 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3084 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3085 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3086 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3087 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3089 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3090 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3091 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3092 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3094 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3095 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3096 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3097 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3099 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3100 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3101 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3102 list where the elements are on the format @code{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3103 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3104 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3106 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3107 ((> score default) . bold))
3109 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3110 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3114 @node Summary Maneuvering
3115 @section Summary Maneuvering
3116 @cindex summary movement
3118 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3119 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3121 None of these commands select articles.
3126 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3127 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3128 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3129 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3130 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3134 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3135 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3136 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3137 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3138 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3143 @kindex G j (Summary)
3144 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3145 Ask for an article number and then go that article
3146 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3149 @kindex G g (Summary)
3150 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3151 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3152 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3155 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3156 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3157 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3158 to the group buffer.
3160 Variables related to summary movement:
3164 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3165 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3166 If you are at the end of the group and issue one of the movement
3167 commands, Gnus will offer to go to the next group. If this variable is
3168 @code{t} and the next group is empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and
3169 return to the group buffer. If this variable is neither @code{t} nor
3170 @code{nil}, Gnus will select the next group, no matter whether it has
3171 any unread articles or not. As a special case, if this variable is
3172 @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
3173 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same will
3174 happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
3175 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
3176 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
3177 @pxref{Group Levels}.
3179 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3180 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3181 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3182 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3183 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3184 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3185 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3187 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3188 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3189 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3190 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3191 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3193 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3194 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3195 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3196 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3197 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3198 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3199 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3200 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3206 @node Choosing Articles
3207 @section Choosing Articles
3208 @cindex selecting articles
3210 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3211 and they all select and display an article.
3215 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3216 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3217 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3218 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3223 @kindex G n (Summary)
3224 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3225 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3230 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3231 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3236 @kindex G N (Summary)
3237 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3238 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3243 @kindex G P (Summary)
3244 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3245 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3248 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3249 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3250 Go to the next article with the same subject
3251 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3254 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3255 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3256 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3257 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3261 @kindex G f (Summary)
3263 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3264 Go to the first unread article
3265 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3269 @kindex G b (Summary)
3271 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3272 Go to the article with the highest score
3273 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3278 @kindex G l (Summary)
3279 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3280 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3283 @kindex G p (Summary)
3284 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3285 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3286 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3287 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3288 history as you like.
3291 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3294 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3295 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3296 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3297 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3298 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3299 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3301 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3302 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3303 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3304 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3306 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3307 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3308 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3309 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3310 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3311 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3312 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3313 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3314 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3315 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3316 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3317 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3318 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3319 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3324 @node Paging the Article
3325 @section Scrolling the Article
3326 @cindex article scrolling
3331 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3332 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3333 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3334 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3335 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3338 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3339 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3340 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3343 @kindex RET (Summary)
3344 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3345 Scroll the current article one line forward
3346 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3350 @kindex A g (Summary)
3352 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3353 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3354 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3355 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3356 the way it came from the server.
3361 @kindex A < (Summary)
3362 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3363 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3364 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3369 @kindex A > (Summary)
3370 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3371 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3374 @kindex A s (Summary)
3375 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3376 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3377 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3382 @node Reply Followup and Post
3383 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3386 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3387 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3391 @node Summary Mail Commands
3392 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3394 @cindex composing mail
3396 Commands for composing a mail message:
3402 @kindex S r (Summary)
3404 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3405 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3406 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3411 @kindex S R (Summary)
3412 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3413 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3414 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3415 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3418 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3419 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3420 Forward the current article to some other person
3421 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
3424 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3425 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3426 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3427 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
3432 @kindex S m (Summary)
3433 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3434 Send a mail to some other person
3435 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3438 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3439 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3440 @cindex bouncing mail
3441 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3442 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3443 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3444 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3445 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3446 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3447 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3448 very well fail, though.
3451 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3452 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3453 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3454 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3455 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3456 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3457 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3458 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3459 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3460 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3462 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3463 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3464 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3465 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3466 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
3469 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3470 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3471 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3472 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3473 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3476 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3477 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3478 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3479 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3482 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3483 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3484 @cindex crossposting
3485 @cindex excessive crossposting
3486 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3487 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3489 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3490 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3491 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3492 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3493 command understands the process/prefix convention
3494 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3499 @node Summary Post Commands
3500 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3502 @cindex composing news
3504 Commands for posting an article:
3510 @kindex S p (Summary)
3511 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3512 Post an article to the current group
3513 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3518 @kindex S f (Summary)
3519 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3520 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3524 @kindex S F (Summary)
3526 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3527 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3528 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3529 process/prefix convention.
3532 @kindex S u (Summary)
3533 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3534 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3535 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3539 @node Canceling and Superseding
3540 @section Canceling Articles
3541 @cindex canceling articles
3542 @cindex superseding articles
3544 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3545 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3547 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3549 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3551 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3552 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3553 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3554 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3556 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3557 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3560 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3561 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3562 your original article.
3564 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3566 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3567 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3568 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3571 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3572 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3573 have posted almost the same article twice.
3575 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3576 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3577 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3578 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3579 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3580 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3581 header by substituting one of those words for @code{Message-ID}. Then
3582 just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as you would do normally.
3583 The previous article will be canceled/superseded.
3585 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3588 @node Marking Articles
3589 @section Marking Articles
3590 @cindex article marking
3591 @cindex article ticking
3594 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3596 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3597 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3598 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3600 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3603 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3604 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3605 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3609 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3613 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3614 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3618 @node Unread Articles
3619 @subsection Unread Articles
3621 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3626 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3627 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3629 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3630 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3631 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3632 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3633 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3637 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3638 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3640 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3641 are followups to it.
3644 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3645 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3647 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3652 @subsection Read Articles
3653 @cindex expirable mark
3655 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3660 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3661 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3662 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3665 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3666 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3669 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3670 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3671 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3674 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3675 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3678 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3679 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3682 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3683 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3686 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3687 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3690 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3691 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3694 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3695 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3698 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3699 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3703 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3704 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3705 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3709 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3710 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3712 One more special mark, though:
3716 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3717 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3719 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3720 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3721 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3722 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3728 @subsection Other Marks
3729 @cindex process mark
3732 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3738 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3739 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3740 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3741 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3742 encounters the article.
3745 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3746 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3747 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3748 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3751 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3752 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3753 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3756 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3757 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3758 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3759 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3762 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3763 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3764 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3765 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3766 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3769 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3770 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3771 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3772 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3773 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3774 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3778 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3779 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3780 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3782 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3783 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3784 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3788 @subsection Setting Marks
3789 @cindex setting marks
3791 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3797 @kindex M t (Summary)
3798 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3799 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3804 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3805 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3806 Mark the current article as dormant
3807 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3811 @kindex M d (Summary)
3813 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3814 Mark the current article as read
3815 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3819 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3820 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3821 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3826 @kindex M k (Summary)
3827 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3828 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3829 and then select the next unread article
3830 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3834 @kindex M K (Summary)
3835 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3836 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3837 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3838 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3841 @kindex M C (Summary)
3842 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3843 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3846 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3847 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3848 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3849 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3852 @kindex M H (Summary)
3853 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3854 Catchup the current group to point
3855 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3858 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3859 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3860 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3861 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3864 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3865 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3866 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3867 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3871 @kindex M c (Summary)
3872 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3873 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3874 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3875 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3879 @kindex M e (Summary)
3881 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
3882 Mark the current article as expirable
3883 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
3886 @kindex M b (Summary)
3887 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
3888 Set a bookmark in the current article
3889 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
3892 @kindex M B (Summary)
3893 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
3894 Remove the bookmark from the current article
3895 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
3898 @kindex M V c (Summary)
3899 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
3900 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
3901 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3904 @kindex M V u (Summary)
3905 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
3906 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
3907 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
3910 @kindex M V m (Summary)
3911 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
3912 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
3913 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
3914 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3917 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
3918 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
3919 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
3920 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
3921 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
3922 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
3923 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
3924 The default is @code{t}.
3927 @node Setting Process Marks
3928 @subsection Setting Process Marks
3929 @cindex setting process marks
3936 @kindex M P p (Summary)
3937 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
3938 Mark the current article with the process mark
3939 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
3940 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
3944 @kindex M P u (Summary)
3945 @kindex M-# (Summary)
3946 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
3947 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
3950 @kindex M P U (Summary)
3951 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
3952 Remove the process mark from all articles
3953 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
3956 @kindex M P i (Summary)
3957 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
3958 Invert the list of process marked articles
3959 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
3962 @kindex M P R (Summary)
3963 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
3964 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
3967 @kindex M P r (Summary)
3968 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
3969 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
3972 @kindex M P t (Summary)
3973 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
3974 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3975 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
3978 @kindex M P T (Summary)
3979 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
3980 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3981 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
3984 @kindex M P v (Summary)
3985 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
3986 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
3987 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
3990 @kindex M P s (Summary)
3991 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
3992 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3995 @kindex M P S (Summary)
3996 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
3997 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
3998 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4001 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4002 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4003 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4006 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4007 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4008 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4009 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4012 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4013 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4014 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4015 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4018 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4019 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4020 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4021 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4024 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4025 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4026 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4027 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4036 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4037 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4038 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4045 @kindex / / (Summary)
4046 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4047 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4048 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4051 @kindex / a (Summary)
4052 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4053 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4054 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4058 @kindex / u (Summary)
4060 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4061 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4062 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4063 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4064 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4067 @kindex / m (Summary)
4068 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4069 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4070 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4073 @kindex / n (Summary)
4074 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4075 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4076 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4077 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4080 @kindex / w (Summary)
4081 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4082 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4083 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4087 @kindex / v (Summary)
4088 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4089 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4090 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4094 @kindex M S (Summary)
4095 @kindex / E (Summary)
4096 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4097 Display all expunged articles
4098 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4101 @kindex / D (Summary)
4102 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4103 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4106 @kindex / d (Summary)
4107 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4108 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4111 @kindex / c (Summary)
4112 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4113 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4114 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4117 @kindex / C (Summary)
4118 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4119 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4120 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4121 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4129 @cindex article threading
4131 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
4132 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
4136 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4137 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4141 @node Customizing Threading
4142 @subsection Customizing Threading
4143 @cindex customizing threading
4149 @item gnus-show-threads
4150 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4151 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4152 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4153 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4154 slower and more awkward.
4156 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4157 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4158 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4159 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4160 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4161 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4162 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4163 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4164 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4165 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4166 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4167 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4169 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4170 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4171 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4172 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4173 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4174 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4175 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4176 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4177 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4178 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4179 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4180 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4181 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4182 @code{nil} by default.
4184 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4185 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4186 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4187 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4188 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4189 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4190 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4191 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4192 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4193 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4194 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4196 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4197 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4198 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
4200 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4201 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4202 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4203 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4204 simplification is used.
4206 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4207 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4208 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4209 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4211 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4213 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4219 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4220 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4221 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4222 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4227 (mapconcat 'identity
4228 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4230 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4233 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4236 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4237 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4238 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4239 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4240 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4241 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4242 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4243 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4245 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4246 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4247 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4248 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4249 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4250 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4251 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4252 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4253 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4257 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4258 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4259 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4260 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4262 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4263 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4264 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4267 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4271 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4272 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4275 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4276 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4277 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4278 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4279 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4280 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4282 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4283 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4284 There are four possible values:
4286 @cindex adopting articles
4291 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4292 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4293 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4294 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4297 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4298 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4299 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4300 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4301 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4302 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4303 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4306 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4307 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4308 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4312 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4313 display them after one another.
4316 Don't gather loose threads.
4319 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4320 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4321 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4324 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4325 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4326 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4329 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4330 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4331 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4332 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4333 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4336 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4337 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4338 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4339 The default is @code{4}.
4343 @node Thread Commands
4344 @subsection Thread Commands
4345 @cindex thread commands
4351 @kindex T k (Summary)
4352 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4353 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4354 Mark all articles in the current sub-thread as read
4355 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4356 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4361 @kindex T l (Summary)
4362 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4363 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4364 Lower the score of the current thread
4365 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4368 @kindex T i (Summary)
4369 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4370 Increase the score of the current thread
4371 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4374 @kindex T # (Summary)
4375 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4376 Set the process mark on the current thread
4377 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4380 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4381 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4382 Remove the process mark from the current thread
4383 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4386 @kindex T T (Summary)
4387 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4388 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4391 @kindex T s (Summary)
4392 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4393 Expose the thread hidden under the current article, if any
4394 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4397 @kindex T h (Summary)
4398 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4399 Hide the current (sub)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4402 @kindex T S (Summary)
4403 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4404 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4407 @kindex T H (Summary)
4408 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4409 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4412 @kindex T t (Summary)
4413 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4414 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4415 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4416 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4419 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4420 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4421 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4422 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4426 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4427 understand the numeric prefix.
4432 @kindex T n (Summary)
4433 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4434 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4437 @kindex T p (Summary)
4438 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4439 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4442 @kindex T d (Summary)
4443 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4444 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4447 @kindex T u (Summary)
4448 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4449 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4452 @kindex T o (Summary)
4453 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4454 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4457 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4458 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4459 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4460 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4461 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4462 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4463 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4464 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4465 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4466 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4467 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4468 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4474 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4475 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4476 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4477 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4478 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4479 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4480 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4481 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4482 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4483 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4484 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4485 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4486 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4487 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4489 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4490 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4491 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4492 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4493 in the list. You should probably always include
4494 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4495 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4496 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4497 ascending article order.
4499 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4500 number, you could do something like:
4503 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4504 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4505 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4506 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4509 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4510 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4511 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4512 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4513 which the articles arrived.
4515 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4519 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4521 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4522 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4525 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4526 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4527 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4528 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4531 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4532 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4533 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4534 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4535 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4536 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4537 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4538 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4539 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4540 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4541 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4542 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4543 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4545 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4549 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4550 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4551 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4556 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4557 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4558 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4559 @cindex article pre-fetch
4562 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4563 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4564 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4565 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4566 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4568 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4569 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4571 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4572 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4573 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4574 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4575 connection is blocked.
4577 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4578 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4579 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4580 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4582 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4583 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4584 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4585 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4588 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4591 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4592 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4593 happen automatically.
4595 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4596 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4597 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4598 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4599 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4600 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4601 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4603 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4604 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4605 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4606 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4607 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4608 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4609 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4610 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4611 data structure as the only parameter.
4613 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4614 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4617 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4618 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4619 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4620 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4623 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4626 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4627 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4628 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4630 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4631 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4632 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4633 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4637 Remove articles when they are read.
4640 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4643 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4645 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4646 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4647 from the next group.
4650 @node Article Caching
4651 @section Article Caching
4652 @cindex article caching
4655 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4656 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4657 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4658 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4659 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4661 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4663 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4664 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4665 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4666 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4667 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4668 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4669 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4670 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4672 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4673 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4674 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4675 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4676 as dormant, and don't worry.
4678 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4680 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4681 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4682 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4683 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4684 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4685 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4686 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4687 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4688 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4689 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4691 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4692 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4693 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4694 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4695 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4696 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4697 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4699 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4700 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4701 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4702 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4703 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4704 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4705 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4708 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4709 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4710 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4711 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4712 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4713 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4714 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4715 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4716 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4720 @node Persistent Articles
4721 @section Persistent Articles
4722 @cindex persistent articles
4724 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4725 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4726 useful in my opinion.
4728 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4729 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4730 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4731 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4732 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4733 the expiry going on at the news server.
4735 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4736 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4737 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4743 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4744 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4747 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4748 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4749 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4750 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4754 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4756 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4757 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4758 interested in persistent articles:
4761 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4765 @node Article Backlog
4766 @section Article Backlog
4768 @cindex article backlog
4770 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4771 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4772 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4773 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4774 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4775 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4776 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4777 increase memory usage some.
4779 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4780 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4781 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4782 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4783 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4784 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4785 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4787 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4790 @node Saving Articles
4791 @section Saving Articles
4792 @cindex saving articles
4794 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4795 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4796 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4797 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4798 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4800 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4801 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4802 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4804 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4805 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4806 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4807 deleted before saving.
4813 @kindex O o (Summary)
4815 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4816 Save the current article using the default article saver
4817 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4820 @kindex O m (Summary)
4821 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4822 Save the current article in mail format
4823 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4826 @kindex O r (Summary)
4827 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4828 Save the current article in rmail format
4829 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4832 @kindex O f (Summary)
4833 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4834 Save the current article in plain file format
4835 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4838 @kindex O b (Summary)
4839 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4840 Save the current article body in plain file format
4841 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4844 @kindex O h (Summary)
4845 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4846 Save the current article in mh folder format
4847 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4850 @kindex O v (Summary)
4851 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4852 Save the current article in a VM folder
4853 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
4856 @kindex O p (Summary)
4857 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4858 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4859 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4862 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4863 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4864 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4865 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4866 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4867 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4868 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4869 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4870 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4871 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4872 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4873 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
4877 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
4878 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
4879 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
4880 functions below, or you can create your own.
4884 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4885 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4886 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
4887 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4888 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
4889 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4890 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4892 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4893 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4894 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
4895 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
4896 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4897 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4899 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
4900 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
4901 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
4902 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4903 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
4904 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4905 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4907 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4908 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4909 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
4910 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4911 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4913 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4914 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4915 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
4916 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
4917 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
4920 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
4921 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
4922 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
4923 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
4924 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
4925 the latter does not.
4927 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4928 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4929 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
4930 reader to use this setting.
4933 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
4934 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
4935 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
4936 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
4939 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
4940 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
4941 available functions that generate names:
4945 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
4946 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
4947 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4949 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
4950 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4951 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4953 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
4954 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
4955 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4957 @item gnus-plain-save-name
4958 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4959 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4962 @vindex gnus-split-methods
4963 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
4964 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
4965 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
4966 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
4970 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
4971 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
4972 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
4973 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
4976 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
4977 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
4978 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
4979 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
4980 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
4981 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
4982 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
4983 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
4984 called returns a string or a list of strings.
4986 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
4987 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
4988 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
4989 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
4991 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
4992 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
4993 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
4996 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4997 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
4998 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
4999 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5000 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5001 all the files in the toplevel directory
5002 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5003 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5004 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5005 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5007 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5008 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5009 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5010 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5011 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5014 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5018 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5019 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5022 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5023 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5024 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5025 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5028 @node Decoding Articles
5029 @section Decoding Articles
5030 @cindex decoding articles
5032 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5033 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5036 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5037 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5038 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5039 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5040 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5043 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5044 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5045 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5046 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5047 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5049 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5050 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5051 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5053 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5054 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5055 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5057 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5058 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5059 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5062 @node Uuencoded Articles
5063 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5065 @cindex uuencoded articles
5070 @kindex X u (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5072 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5075 @kindex X U (Summary)
5076 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5077 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5078 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5081 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5082 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5083 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5086 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5087 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5088 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5089 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5092 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5093 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5094 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5095 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5096 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5098 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5099 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5100 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5101 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5104 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5105 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5106 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5107 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5108 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5109 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5113 @node Shared Articles
5114 @subsection Shared Articles
5116 @cindex shared articles
5121 @kindex X s (Summary)
5122 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5123 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5126 @kindex X S (Summary)
5127 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5128 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5131 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5132 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5133 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5136 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5137 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5138 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5139 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5143 @node PostScript Files
5144 @subsection PostScript Files
5150 @kindex X p (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5152 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5155 @kindex X P (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5157 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5158 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5161 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5162 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5163 View the current PostScript series
5164 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5167 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5168 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5169 View and save the current PostScript series
5170 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5174 @node Decoding Variables
5175 @subsection Decoding Variables
5177 Adjective, not verb.
5180 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5181 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5182 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5186 @node Rule Variables
5187 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5188 @cindex rule variables
5190 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5191 variables are on the form
5194 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5201 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5202 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5204 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5205 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5208 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5209 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5212 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5213 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5214 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5215 user and default view rules.
5217 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5218 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5219 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5224 @node Other Decode Variables
5225 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5228 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5230 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5231 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5232 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5233 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5234 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5238 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5239 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5242 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5243 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5244 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5247 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5248 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5249 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5251 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5252 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5253 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5254 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5255 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5258 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5259 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5260 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5262 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5263 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5264 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5265 looking for files to display.
5267 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5268 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5269 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5272 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5273 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5274 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5277 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5278 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5279 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5282 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5283 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5284 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5287 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5288 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5289 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5290 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5292 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5293 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5294 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5295 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5297 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5298 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5300 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5301 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5302 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5303 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5305 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5306 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5307 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5308 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5309 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5310 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5311 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5312 simply dropped them.
5317 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5318 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5322 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5323 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5324 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5325 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5326 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5327 for you when you post the article.
5329 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5330 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5331 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5332 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5334 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5335 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5336 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5337 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5338 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5339 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5340 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5342 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5343 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5344 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5345 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5346 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5347 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5348 Default is @code{t}.
5354 @subsection Viewing Files
5355 @cindex viewing files
5356 @cindex pseudo-articles
5358 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5359 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5360 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5361 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5362 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5363 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5364 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5366 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5367 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5368 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5369 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5371 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5372 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5373 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5375 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5376 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5377 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5378 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5379 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5381 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5382 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5383 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5384 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5385 a list of parameters to that command.
5387 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5388 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5389 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5391 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5392 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5393 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5396 @node Article Treatment
5397 @section Article Treatment
5399 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5400 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5401 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5402 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5403 these articles easier.
5406 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5407 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5408 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5409 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5410 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5411 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5415 @node Article Highlighting
5416 @subsection Article Highlighting
5419 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5420 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5425 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5426 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5427 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5430 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5431 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5432 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5433 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5434 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5435 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5436 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5437 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5438 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5439 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5440 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5443 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5444 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5445 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5447 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5450 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5452 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5453 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5454 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5456 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5457 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5458 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5460 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5461 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5462 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5464 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5465 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5466 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5467 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5468 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5471 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5472 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5473 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5475 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5476 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5477 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5479 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5480 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5481 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5482 that it's a citation.
5484 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5485 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5486 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5488 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5489 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5490 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5492 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5493 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5494 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5495 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5501 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5502 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5503 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5504 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5505 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5506 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5507 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5508 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5514 @node Article Hiding
5515 @subsection Article Hiding
5516 @cindex article hiding
5518 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5519 too much cruft in most articles.
5524 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5525 @findex gnus-article-hide
5526 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5529 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5530 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5531 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5535 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5536 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5537 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5538 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5541 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5542 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5543 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5547 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5548 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5549 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5552 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5553 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5554 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5555 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5558 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5559 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5560 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5561 customizing the hiding:
5565 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5566 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5567 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5568 50), hide the cited text.
5570 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5571 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5572 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5575 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5576 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5577 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5578 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5579 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5584 Start point of the hidden text.
5586 End point of the hidden text.
5588 Length of the hidden text.
5591 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5592 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5593 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5598 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5599 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5600 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5601 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5602 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5603 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5607 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5608 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5609 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5611 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5612 citation customization.
5615 @node Article Washing
5616 @subsection Article Washing
5618 @cindex article washing
5620 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5621 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5623 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5624 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5630 @kindex W l (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5632 Remove page breaks from the current article
5633 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5636 @kindex W r (Summary)
5637 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5638 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5639 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5642 @kindex W t (Summary)
5643 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5644 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5645 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5648 @kindex W v (Summary)
5649 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5650 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5651 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5654 @kindex W m (Summary)
5655 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5656 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5657 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5660 @kindex W o (Summary)
5661 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5662 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5665 @kindex W w (Summary)
5666 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5667 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5668 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5669 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5672 @kindex W c (Summary)
5673 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5674 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5677 @kindex W q (Summary)
5678 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5679 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5682 @kindex W f (Summary)
5684 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5685 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5686 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5687 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5688 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5689 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5690 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5691 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5692 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5693 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5694 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5695 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5696 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5697 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5698 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5699 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5700 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5701 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5705 @kindex W b (Summary)
5706 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5707 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5710 @kindex W B (Summary)
5711 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5712 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5713 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5716 @kindex W E l (Summary)
5717 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
5718 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
5719 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
5722 @kindex W E m (Summary)
5723 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
5724 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
5725 lines with a single empty line.
5726 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
5729 @kindex W E t (Summary)
5730 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5731 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5732 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5735 @kindex W E a (Summary)
5736 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
5737 Do all the three commands above
5738 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
5743 @node Article Buttons
5744 @subsection Article Buttons
5747 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5748 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5749 with the minimum of fuzz.
5751 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5752 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5753 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5758 @item gnus-button-alist
5759 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5760 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5763 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5769 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5770 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5771 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5774 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5775 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5776 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use @code{0} here.
5779 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5780 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5781 avoid false matches.
5784 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5787 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5788 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5792 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5795 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5798 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5799 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5800 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5801 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5802 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5805 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5808 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5810 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5811 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5812 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5813 default values of the variables above.
5815 @item gnus-article-button-face
5816 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5817 Face used on buttons.
5819 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5820 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5821 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5827 @subsection Article Date
5829 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5830 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5831 when the article was sent.
5836 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5838 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5839 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5842 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5843 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5844 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5847 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5848 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5849 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5850 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5853 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5854 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5855 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5856 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5857 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5858 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5859 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5864 @node Article Signature
5865 @subsection Article Signature
5867 @cindex article signature
5869 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5870 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
5871 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
5872 that says what is to be considered a signature is
5873 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
5874 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
5875 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
5876 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
5877 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
5880 (setq gnus-signature-separator
5881 '("^-- $" ; The standard
5882 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
5883 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
5884 ; line of dashes. Shame!
5885 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
5886 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
5887 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
5890 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
5893 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
5894 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
5899 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
5902 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
5905 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
5906 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
5908 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
5909 in question is not a signature.
5912 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
5916 @node Summary Sorting
5917 @section Summary Sorting
5918 @cindex summary sorting
5920 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
5921 can't really see why you'd want that.
5926 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
5927 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
5928 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
5931 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
5933 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
5936 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
5938 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
5941 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
5943 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
5946 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
5947 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
5948 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
5951 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
5952 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
5953 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
5954 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
5955 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
5959 @node Finding the Parent
5960 @section Finding the Parent
5961 @cindex parent articles
5962 @cindex referring articles
5964 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
5966 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
5967 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
5968 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
5969 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
5970 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
5971 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
5972 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
5973 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
5975 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
5976 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
5977 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
5978 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
5979 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
5982 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
5983 @kindex A R (Summary)
5984 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
5985 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
5986 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
5988 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
5989 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
5990 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
5991 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
5992 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
5993 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
5994 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
5995 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
5997 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
5998 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
5999 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6000 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6001 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6002 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6003 not really necessary.
6005 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6006 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6007 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6008 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6009 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6010 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6013 @node Alternative Approaches
6014 @section Alternative Approaches
6016 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6017 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6020 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6021 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6026 @subsection Pick and Read
6027 @cindex pick and read
6029 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6030 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6031 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6032 an article buffer displayed.
6034 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6035 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6036 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6037 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6038 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6039 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6042 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6047 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6048 Pick the article on the current line
6049 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6050 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6051 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6054 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6055 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6056 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6057 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6061 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6062 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6066 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6067 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6071 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6072 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6076 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6077 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6081 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6082 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6086 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6087 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6091 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6092 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6096 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6097 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6101 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6102 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6106 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6107 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6111 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6112 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6113 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6114 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6115 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6116 will still be visible when you are reading.
6120 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6123 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6126 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6127 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6129 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6130 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6131 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6133 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6134 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6135 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6136 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6137 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6138 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6139 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6143 @subsection Binary Groups
6144 @cindex binary groups
6146 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6147 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6148 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6149 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6150 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6151 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6152 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6155 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6156 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6157 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6159 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6160 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6164 @section Tree Display
6167 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6168 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6169 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6170 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6173 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6176 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6177 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6178 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6180 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6181 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6182 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6183 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6186 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6187 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6188 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6189 default is @code{modeline}.
6191 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6192 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6193 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6194 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6195 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6196 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6197 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6203 The name of the poster.
6205 The @code{From} header.
6207 The number of the article.
6209 The opening bracket.
6211 The closing bracket.
6216 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6218 Variables related to the display are:
6221 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6222 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6223 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6224 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6225 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6226 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6228 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6229 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6230 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6231 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6235 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6236 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6237 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6238 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6239 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6240 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6242 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6243 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6244 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6245 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6246 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6247 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6248 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6252 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6255 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6265 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6269 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6270 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6272 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6274 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6280 @node Mail Group Commands
6281 @section Mail Group Commands
6282 @cindex mail group commands
6284 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6285 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6287 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6288 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6293 @kindex B e (Summary)
6294 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6295 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6296 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6299 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6301 Expunge all the expirable articles in the group
6302 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6303 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6304 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6307 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6309 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6310 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6311 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6314 @kindex B m (Summary)
6316 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6317 Move the article from one mail group to another
6318 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6321 @kindex B c (Summary)
6323 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6324 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6325 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6328 @kindex B C (Summary)
6329 @cindex crosspost mail
6330 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6331 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6332 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6333 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6334 be properly updated.
6337 @kindex B i (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6339 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6340 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6341 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6344 @kindex B r (Summary)
6345 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6346 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6350 @kindex B w (Summary)
6352 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6353 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6354 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6355 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6356 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6359 @kindex B q (Summary)
6360 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6361 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6362 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6363 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6366 @kindex B p (Summary)
6367 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6368 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6369 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6370 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6371 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6372 article from your news server (or rather, from
6373 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6374 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6375 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6376 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6377 just not have arrived yet.
6381 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6382 @cindex moving articles
6383 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6384 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6385 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6386 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6387 suggestions you find reasonable.
6390 @node Various Summary Stuff
6391 @section Various Summary Stuff
6394 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6395 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6396 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6397 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6401 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6402 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6403 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6405 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6406 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6407 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6408 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6409 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6410 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6413 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6414 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6415 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6416 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6417 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6422 @node Summary Group Information
6423 @subsection Summary Group Information
6428 @kindex H f (Summary)
6429 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6430 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6431 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6432 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6433 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6434 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6435 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6436 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6440 @kindex H d (Summary)
6441 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6442 Give a brief description of the current group
6443 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6444 rereading the description from the server.
6447 @kindex H h (Summary)
6448 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6449 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6450 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6453 @kindex H i (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6455 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6459 @node Searching for Articles
6460 @subsection Searching for Articles
6465 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6466 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6467 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6468 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6471 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6473 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6474 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6478 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6479 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6480 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6481 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6484 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6485 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6486 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6487 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6490 @node Summary Generation Commands
6491 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6496 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6497 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6498 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6501 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6502 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6503 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6504 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6509 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6510 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6515 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6516 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6517 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6518 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6519 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6520 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6521 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6522 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6523 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6527 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6528 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6529 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6530 several documents into one biiig group
6531 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6532 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6533 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6534 command understands the process/prefix convention
6535 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6538 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6539 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6540 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6541 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6542 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6543 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6547 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6548 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6549 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6554 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6555 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6556 @cindex summary exit
6557 @cindex exiting groups
6559 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6560 group and return you to the group buffer.
6566 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6568 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6569 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6570 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6571 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6572 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6573 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6574 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6575 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6580 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6582 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6583 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6584 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6588 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6590 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6591 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6592 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6595 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6597 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6598 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6601 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6602 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6603 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6604 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6607 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6608 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6609 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6610 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6611 all articles, both read and unread.
6615 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6616 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6617 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6618 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6619 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6620 articles, both read and unread.
6623 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6624 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6625 Exit the group and go to the next group
6626 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6629 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6631 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6632 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6635 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6636 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6639 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6640 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6641 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6642 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6643 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6644 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6645 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6646 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6647 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6648 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6649 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6650 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6652 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6654 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6655 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6656 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6657 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6658 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6659 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6660 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6661 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6662 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6665 @node Crosspost Handling
6666 @section Crosspost Handling
6670 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6671 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6672 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6673 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6674 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6675 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6678 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6679 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6680 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6681 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6682 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6684 @cindex cross-posting
6687 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6688 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6689 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6690 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6691 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6692 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6693 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6694 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6695 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6696 the cross reference mechanism.
6698 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6699 @cindex overview.fmt
6700 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6701 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6702 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6703 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6704 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6705 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6708 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6709 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6710 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6715 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6718 @node Duplicate Suppression
6719 @section Duplicate Suppression
6721 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6722 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
6723 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6724 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6729 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6730 is evil and not very common.
6733 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6734 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6737 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6738 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6741 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6744 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6745 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6747 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6748 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6749 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6750 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6751 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6752 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6753 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
6756 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6757 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6758 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6759 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6760 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6764 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6765 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6766 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6768 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6769 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6770 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6771 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6772 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6773 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6775 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6776 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6777 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6778 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6780 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6781 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6782 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6783 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6786 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6787 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6788 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6789 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6790 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6791 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6792 to you to figure out, I think.
6795 @node The Article Buffer
6796 @chapter The Article Buffer
6797 @cindex article buffer
6799 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6800 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6801 tell Gnus otherwise.
6804 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6805 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6806 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6807 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
6808 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6812 @node Hiding Headers
6813 @section Hiding Headers
6814 @cindex hiding headers
6815 @cindex deleting headers
6817 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6818 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6820 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6821 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6822 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6823 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6824 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6825 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6826 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6827 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6828 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6830 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6834 @item gnus-visible-headers
6835 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6836 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6837 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6838 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6840 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6841 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6844 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6847 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6850 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6851 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6852 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6853 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6854 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6855 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6857 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6858 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6861 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6864 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6867 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
6868 variable will have no effect.
6872 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
6873 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
6874 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
6875 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
6876 the headers are to be displayed.
6878 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
6879 and then the subject, you might say something like:
6882 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
6885 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
6886 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
6887 are listed in this variable.
6889 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6890 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6891 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
6892 You can hide further boring headers by entering
6893 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
6894 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
6895 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
6896 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
6897 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
6899 These conditions are:
6902 Remove all empty headers.
6904 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
6907 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
6908 @code{Newsgroups} header.
6910 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
6913 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
6917 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
6920 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
6921 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
6924 This is also the default value for this variable.
6928 @section Using @sc{mime}
6931 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
6932 while people stand around yawning.
6934 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
6935 while all newsreaders die of fear.
6937 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
6938 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
6939 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
6941 @vindex gnus-show-mime
6942 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
6943 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
6944 @findex metamail-buffer
6945 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
6946 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
6947 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
6948 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
6949 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
6950 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
6951 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
6952 buffer. These can't be avoided.
6954 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
6955 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
6956 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
6957 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
6958 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
6959 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
6960 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
6961 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
6962 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
6964 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
6967 @node Customizing Articles
6968 @section Customizing Articles
6969 @cindex article customization
6971 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6972 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
6973 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
6974 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
6976 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6977 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
6978 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
6979 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
6980 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
6981 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
6982 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
6985 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
6986 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
6987 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
6988 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
6989 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
6992 @node Article Keymap
6993 @section Article Keymap
6995 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
6996 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
6997 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
6998 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7001 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7006 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7007 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7008 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7011 @kindex DEL (Article)
7012 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7013 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7016 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7017 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7018 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7019 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7020 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7023 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7024 @findex gnus-article-mail
7025 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7026 given a prefix, include the mail.
7030 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7031 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7032 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7036 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7037 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7038 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7041 @kindex TAB (Article)
7042 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7043 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7044 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7047 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7048 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7049 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7055 @section Misc Article
7059 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7060 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7061 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7062 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7065 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7066 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7067 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7068 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7069 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7070 the contents of the article buffer.
7072 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7073 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7074 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7075 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7076 hiding headers, and the like.
7078 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7079 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7080 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7082 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7083 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7084 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7085 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7086 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7090 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7091 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7095 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7097 @item gnus-break-pages
7098 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7099 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7100 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7101 paging will not be done.
7103 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7104 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7105 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7110 @node Composing Messages
7111 @chapter Composing Messages
7116 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7117 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7118 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7119 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7120 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7121 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7122 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7125 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7126 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7127 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7128 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7129 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7130 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7131 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7132 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7135 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7136 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7142 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7145 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7146 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7147 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7148 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7156 Variables for composing news articles:
7159 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7160 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7161 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7162 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7163 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7164 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7165 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7166 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7167 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7170 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7171 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7172 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7173 file. It is 1000 by default.
7178 @node Posting Server
7179 @section Posting Server
7181 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7182 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7184 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7186 @vindex gnus-post-method
7188 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7189 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7190 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7191 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7192 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7195 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7198 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7199 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7200 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7201 the ``current'' server for posting.
7203 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7204 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7206 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7207 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7212 @section Mail and Post
7214 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7218 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7219 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7220 @cindex mailing lists
7222 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7223 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7224 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7225 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7226 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7227 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7228 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7229 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7230 still a pain, though.
7234 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7235 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7236 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7239 @findex ispell-message
7241 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7245 @node Archived Messages
7246 @section Archived Messages
7247 @cindex archived messages
7248 @cindex sent messages
7250 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
7251 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
7252 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
7253 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
7255 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7256 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7257 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7261 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7264 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7265 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7266 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7267 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7270 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7271 '(nnfolder "archive"
7272 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7273 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7274 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7277 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7279 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7280 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7281 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7283 This variable can be:
7287 Messages will be saved in that group.
7288 @item a list of strings
7289 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7290 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7291 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7293 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7298 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7300 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7303 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7305 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7308 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7310 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7311 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7312 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7313 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7318 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7319 '((if (message-news-p)
7324 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7325 messages in one file per month:
7328 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7329 '((if (message-news-p)
7331 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7332 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7335 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7336 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7337 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7338 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7339 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7340 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7341 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7342 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7343 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7344 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7346 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
7347 way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
7348 should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
7351 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7352 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7355 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7356 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7357 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7358 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7359 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7362 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7363 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7364 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7369 @c @node Posting Styles
7370 @c @section Posting Styles
7371 @c @cindex posting styles
7374 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7376 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7377 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7378 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7381 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7382 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7383 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7384 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7385 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7390 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7391 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7393 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7394 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7395 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7398 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7399 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7400 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7401 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7402 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7403 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7404 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7405 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7407 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7408 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7409 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7410 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7411 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7412 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7415 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7416 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7417 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7418 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7419 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7422 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7423 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7424 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7426 @c So here's a new example:
7429 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7431 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7432 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7433 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7434 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7436 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7437 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7438 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7439 @c (posting-from-work-p
7440 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7441 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7442 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7444 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7451 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7452 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7453 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7454 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7455 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7457 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7458 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7459 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7460 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7461 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7465 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7466 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7467 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7468 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7469 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7470 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7471 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7472 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7474 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7477 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7478 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7479 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7480 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7481 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7482 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7483 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7484 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7485 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7486 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7487 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7488 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7489 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7490 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7492 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7493 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7494 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7496 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7497 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7498 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7499 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7500 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7502 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7505 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7506 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7507 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7508 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7509 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7512 @c @node Rejected Articles
7513 @c @section Rejected Articles
7514 @c @cindex rejected articles
7516 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7517 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7518 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7519 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7521 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7522 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7523 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7524 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7525 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7527 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7528 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7529 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7532 @node Select Methods
7533 @chapter Select Methods
7534 @cindex foreign groups
7535 @cindex select methods
7537 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7538 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7539 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7540 personal mail group.
7542 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7543 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7544 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7545 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7546 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7547 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7549 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7550 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7552 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7555 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7556 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7557 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7558 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7559 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7561 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7564 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7565 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7566 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7567 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7568 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7572 @node The Server Buffer
7573 @section The Server Buffer
7575 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7576 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7577 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7578 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7579 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7580 backend represents a virtual server.
7582 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7583 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7584 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7585 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7587 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7588 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7589 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number @code{13}, which
7590 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7591 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7592 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7593 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7595 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7596 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7599 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7600 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7601 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7602 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7603 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7604 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7607 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7608 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7611 @node Server Buffer Format
7612 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7613 @cindex server buffer format
7615 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7616 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7617 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7618 variable, with some simple extensions:
7623 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7626 The name of this server.
7629 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7632 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7635 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7636 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7637 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7648 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7651 @node Server Commands
7652 @subsection Server Commands
7653 @cindex server commands
7659 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7660 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7664 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7665 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7668 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7669 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7670 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7674 @findex gnus-server-exit
7675 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7679 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7680 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7684 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7685 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7689 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7690 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7694 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7695 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7699 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
7700 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
7701 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
7707 @node Example Methods
7708 @subsection Example Methods
7710 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7713 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7716 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7722 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7723 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7726 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7727 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7729 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7730 port @code{15} from that machine. This is what the select method should
7734 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7737 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7738 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7740 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7741 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7742 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7746 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7749 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7752 Here's the method for a public spool:
7756 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7757 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7761 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7762 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7764 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7765 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7767 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7768 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7769 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7771 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7773 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7774 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7775 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7776 will contain the following:
7786 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7787 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7788 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7791 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7792 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7793 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7796 @node Servers and Methods
7797 @subsection Servers and Methods
7799 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7800 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7801 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7802 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7806 @node Unavailable Servers
7807 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7809 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7810 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7811 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7812 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7813 actually the case or not.
7815 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7816 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7817 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7818 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7819 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7820 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7821 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7822 regard that server as ``down''.
7824 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7825 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7827 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7828 with the following commands:
7834 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7835 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7836 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7840 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7841 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7842 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7846 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7847 Mark the current server as unreachable
7848 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7851 @kindex M-o (Server)
7852 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
7853 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
7854 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
7857 @kindex M-c (Server)
7858 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
7859 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
7860 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
7864 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
7865 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
7866 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
7872 @section Getting News
7873 @cindex reading news
7874 @cindex news backends
7876 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
7877 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
7878 or it can read from a local spool.
7881 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
7882 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
7887 @subsection @sc{nntp}
7890 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
7891 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
7892 server as the, uhm, address.
7894 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
7895 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
7896 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
7897 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
7899 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
7900 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
7901 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
7903 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
7908 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
7909 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
7910 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
7912 @cindex authentification
7913 @cindex nntp authentification
7914 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7915 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
7916 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
7917 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
7918 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
7919 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
7921 @item nntp-authinfo-function
7922 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
7923 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
7924 server. Available functions include:
7927 @item nntp-send-authinfo
7928 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7929 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
7930 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
7932 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
7933 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
7934 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
7936 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
7937 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
7938 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
7939 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
7942 @item nntp-server-action-alist
7943 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
7944 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
7945 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
7946 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
7949 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
7953 You probably don't want to do that, though.
7955 The default value is
7958 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
7959 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
7962 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
7963 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
7965 @item nntp-maximum-request
7966 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
7967 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
7968 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
7969 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
7970 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
7971 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
7972 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
7974 @item nntp-connection-timeout
7975 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
7976 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
7977 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
7978 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
7979 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
7980 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
7981 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
7982 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
7983 no timeouts are done.
7985 @item nntp-command-timeout
7986 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
7987 @cindex PPP connections
7988 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
7989 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
7990 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
7991 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
7992 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
7993 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
7994 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
7995 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
7996 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
7997 likely number is 30 seconds.
7999 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8000 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8001 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8002 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8005 @item nntp-server-hook
8006 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8007 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8010 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8011 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8012 @item nntp-open-server-function
8013 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
8014 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8015 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8016 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8017 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8018 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8020 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8021 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8022 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8023 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
8024 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8026 @item nntp-end-of-line
8027 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8028 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8029 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8030 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8032 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8033 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8034 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8038 @vindex nntp-address
8039 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8041 @item nntp-port-number
8042 @vindex nntp-port-number
8043 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8046 @item nntp-buggy-select
8047 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8048 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8050 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8051 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8052 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8053 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8054 can be used automatically.
8056 @item nntp-xover-commands
8057 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8060 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8061 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8065 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8066 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8067 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8068 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8069 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8070 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8071 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8072 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8073 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8074 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8075 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8077 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8078 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8079 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8081 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8082 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8083 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8084 server closes connection.
8090 @subsection News Spool
8094 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8095 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8096 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8099 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8100 anything else) as the address.
8102 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8103 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8104 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8105 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8109 @item nnspool-inews-program
8110 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8111 Program used to post an article.
8113 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8114 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8115 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8117 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8118 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8119 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8120 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8122 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8123 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8124 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8125 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8127 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8128 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8129 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8131 @item nnspool-active-file
8132 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8133 The path of the active file.
8135 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8136 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8137 The path of the group descriptions file.
8139 @item nnspool-history-file
8140 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8141 The path of the news history file.
8143 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8144 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8145 The path of the active date file.
8147 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8148 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8149 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8152 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8153 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8155 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8156 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8157 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8163 @section Getting Mail
8164 @cindex reading mail
8167 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8171 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8172 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8173 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8174 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8175 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8176 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8177 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8178 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8179 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8180 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8181 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8185 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8186 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8188 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8189 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8190 and things will happen automatically.
8192 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8193 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8196 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8197 '((nnml "private")))
8200 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8201 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8202 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8203 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8204 like any other group.
8206 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8209 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8210 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8211 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8215 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8216 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8217 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8220 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8221 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8222 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8225 @node Splitting Mail
8226 @subsection Splitting Mail
8227 @cindex splitting mail
8228 @cindex mail splitting
8230 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8231 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8232 to be split into groups.
8235 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8236 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8237 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8241 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8242 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8243 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8244 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8245 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8247 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8248 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8251 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8252 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8253 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8254 mail belongs in that group.
8256 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8257 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
8258 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
8260 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8261 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8262 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8263 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8264 thinks should carry this mail message.
8266 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8267 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8268 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8269 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8271 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8272 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8273 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8274 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8275 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8277 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8280 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8281 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8282 links. If that's the case for you, set
8283 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8284 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8286 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8287 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8288 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8289 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8291 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8292 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8293 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8294 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8295 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8296 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8297 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8298 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8302 @node Mail Backend Variables
8303 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8305 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8309 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8310 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8311 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8312 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8314 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8315 @item nnmail-spool-file
8319 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8320 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8321 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8322 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8323 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8324 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8325 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8326 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8327 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8328 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8329 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8330 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8331 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8332 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8333 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8335 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8336 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8337 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8338 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8339 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8340 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8342 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8343 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8344 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8345 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8346 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8347 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8348 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8351 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8352 @item nnmail-crash-box
8353 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8354 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8355 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8358 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8359 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8360 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8361 used for, well, anything, really.
8363 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8364 @item nnmail-split-hook
8365 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8366 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8367 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8368 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8369 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8370 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8371 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{article-decode-rfc1522}
8372 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8374 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8375 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8376 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8377 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8378 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8379 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8380 starting to handle the new mail) and
8381 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8382 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8383 default file modes the new mail files get:
8386 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8387 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8389 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8390 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8393 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8394 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8395 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8396 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8397 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8398 it will be used instead.
8400 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8401 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8402 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8403 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8405 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8406 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8409 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8410 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8411 @cindex incoming mail files
8412 @cindex deleting incoming files
8413 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8414 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8415 default for reasons of security.
8417 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8418 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8419 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8420 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8421 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8423 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8425 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8426 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8427 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8428 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8429 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8432 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8433 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8435 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8440 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8441 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8442 @cindex mail splitting
8443 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8445 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8446 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8447 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8448 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8449 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8450 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8452 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8455 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8456 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8457 ;; from real errors.
8458 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8460 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8461 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8462 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8463 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8464 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8465 ;; Other mailing lists...
8466 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8467 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8469 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8470 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8474 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8475 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8476 the five possible split syntaxes:
8481 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8484 @code{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8485 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8486 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8490 @code{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8491 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8492 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8493 be stored in one or more groups.
8496 @code{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8497 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8500 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8501 this message anywhere.
8505 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8506 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8507 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8510 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8511 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8512 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8513 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8514 the cdr contains a string.
8516 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8517 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8518 when all this splitting is performed.
8521 @node Mail and Procmail
8522 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8527 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8528 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8529 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8530 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8531 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8533 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8534 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8537 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8538 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8539 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8540 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8541 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8542 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8544 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8547 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8549 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8550 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8552 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8553 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8554 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8555 to include all your mail groups.
8557 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8558 method will be created automatically.
8560 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8561 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8562 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8563 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8564 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8565 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8566 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8567 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8569 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8570 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8571 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8572 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8573 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8575 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8576 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8577 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8578 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8579 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8582 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
8583 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
8584 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
8585 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
8586 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
8589 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
8590 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
8591 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
8592 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
8593 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
8597 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8598 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8600 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8601 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8602 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8605 Doing so can be quite easy.
8607 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8608 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8609 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8610 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8611 your @code{nnml} groups.
8617 Go to the group buffer.
8620 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8621 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8624 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8627 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8631 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8632 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8635 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8636 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8637 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8638 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8639 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8641 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8642 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8643 using the new mail backend.
8647 @subsection Expiring Mail
8648 @cindex article expiry
8650 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8651 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8652 different approach to mail reading.
8654 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8655 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8656 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8657 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8658 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8659 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8662 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8663 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8664 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8665 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8666 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8667 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8668 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8669 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8671 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8672 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8673 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8674 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8675 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8676 column in the summary buffer.
8678 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8679 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8682 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8683 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8686 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8687 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8689 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8690 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8691 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8693 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8694 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8695 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8696 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8699 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8701 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8703 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8705 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8707 ((string= group "important")
8713 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8714 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8716 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8717 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8718 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8721 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8722 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8724 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8725 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8726 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8727 easier for procmail users.
8729 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8730 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8731 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8732 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8733 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8734 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8735 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8736 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8737 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8738 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8739 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8740 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8741 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8746 @subsection Washing Mail
8747 @cindex mail washing
8748 @cindex list server brain damage
8749 @cindex incoming mail treatment
8751 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
8752 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
8753 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
8754 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
8755 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
8756 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
8758 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
8759 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
8760 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
8763 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
8764 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
8765 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
8766 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
8769 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8770 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8771 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
8772 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
8775 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8776 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
8777 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
8778 Emacs running on MS machines.
8782 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8783 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
8784 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
8785 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
8788 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8789 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
8790 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
8791 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
8793 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8794 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
8795 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
8796 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
8797 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
8798 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
8799 also be a list of regexp.
8801 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
8802 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
8805 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
8806 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
8809 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
8810 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
8811 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
8815 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8816 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
8817 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
8821 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
8822 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
8823 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
8830 @subsection Duplicates
8832 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8833 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8834 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8835 @cindex duplicate mails
8836 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8837 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8838 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8839 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
8840 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8841 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8842 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8843 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
8844 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
8845 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
8846 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
8847 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
8848 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
8849 duplicate of a different message.
8851 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
8852 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
8853 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
8854 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
8856 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
8859 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
8860 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
8864 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
8865 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
8866 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
8867 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
8868 (any mail "mail.misc")
8875 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8876 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
8881 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
8882 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
8883 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
8884 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
8885 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
8888 @node Not Reading Mail
8889 @subsection Not Reading Mail
8891 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
8892 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
8893 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
8895 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
8896 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
8898 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8899 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8900 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8901 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8902 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8903 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
8904 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
8905 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
8906 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
8907 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
8908 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
8910 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
8911 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
8915 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
8916 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
8918 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
8919 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
8920 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
8923 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
8924 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
8925 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
8926 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
8927 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
8932 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
8934 @cindex unix mail box
8936 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8937 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8938 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
8939 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
8940 which group it belongs in.
8942 Virtual server settings:
8945 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
8946 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8947 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
8949 @item nnmbox-active-file
8950 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8951 The name of the active file for the mail box.
8953 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
8954 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8955 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
8961 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
8965 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8966 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8967 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
8968 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
8969 article to say which group it belongs in.
8971 Virtual server settings:
8974 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
8975 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8976 The name of the rmail mbox file.
8978 @item nnbabyl-active-file
8979 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8980 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
8982 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8983 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8984 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
8989 @subsubsection Mail Spool
8991 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
8993 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
8994 format. It should be used with some caution.
8996 @vindex nnml-directory
8997 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
8998 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
8999 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9000 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9002 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9005 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9006 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9007 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9008 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9009 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9010 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9011 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9012 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9014 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9015 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9016 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9017 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9019 Virtual server settings:
9022 @item nnml-directory
9023 @vindex nnml-directory
9024 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9026 @item nnml-active-file
9027 @vindex nnml-active-file
9028 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9030 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9031 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9032 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9035 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9036 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9037 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9039 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9040 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9041 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9043 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9044 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9045 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9047 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9048 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9049 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9053 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9054 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9055 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9056 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9057 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9058 might take a while to complete.
9062 @subsubsection MH Spool
9064 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9066 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9067 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9068 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9069 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9071 Virtual server settings:
9074 @item nnmh-directory
9075 @vindex nnmh-directory
9076 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9078 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9079 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9080 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9083 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9084 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9085 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9086 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9087 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9088 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9089 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9094 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9096 @cindex mbox folders
9097 @cindex mail folders
9099 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9100 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9101 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9104 Virtual server settings:
9107 @item nnfolder-directory
9108 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9109 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9111 @item nnfolder-active-file
9112 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9113 The name of the active file.
9115 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9116 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9117 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9119 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9120 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9121 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9124 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9125 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9126 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9127 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9128 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9129 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9133 @section Other Sources
9135 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9136 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9140 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9141 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9142 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9143 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9144 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9145 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9149 @node Directory Groups
9150 @subsection Directory Groups
9152 @cindex directory groups
9154 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9155 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9158 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9159 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9160 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9162 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9163 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9164 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9165 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9166 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9168 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9170 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9171 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9172 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9173 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9176 @node Anything Groups
9177 @subsection Anything Groups
9180 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9181 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9182 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9185 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9186 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9187 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9188 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9189 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9190 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9191 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9192 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9193 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9194 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9197 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9198 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9199 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9200 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9202 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9203 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9204 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9205 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9207 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9208 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9209 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9210 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9211 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9212 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9213 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9214 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9219 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9220 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9221 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9222 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9224 @item nneething-exclude-files
9225 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9226 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9227 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9229 @item nneething-map-file
9230 @vindex nneething-map-file
9231 Name of the map files.
9235 @node Document Groups
9236 @subsection Document Groups
9238 @cindex documentation group
9241 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9242 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9249 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9254 The standard Unix mbox file.
9256 @cindex MMDF mail box
9258 The MMDF mail box format.
9261 Several news articles appended into a file.
9264 @cindex rnews batch files
9265 The rnews batch transport format.
9266 @cindex forwarded messages
9275 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9276 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9277 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9279 @item standard-digest
9280 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9283 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9286 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9287 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9288 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9291 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9292 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9293 group. And that's it.
9295 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9296 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9297 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9298 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9299 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9300 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9301 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9302 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9303 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9304 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9306 Virtual server variables:
9309 @item nndoc-article-type
9310 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9311 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9312 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9313 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9315 @item nndoc-post-type
9316 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9317 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9318 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9323 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9327 @node Document Server Internals
9328 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9330 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9331 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9332 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9333 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9335 First, here's an example document type definition:
9339 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9340 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9343 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9344 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9345 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9346 types can be defined with very few settings:
9350 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9351 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9355 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9356 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9358 @item head-begin-function
9359 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9362 @item nndoc-head-begin
9363 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9366 @item nndoc-head-end
9367 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9368 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9370 @item body-begin-function
9371 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9375 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9378 @item body-end-function
9379 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9383 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9385 @item nndoc-file-end
9386 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9387 regexp will be totally ignored.
9391 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9392 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9393 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9394 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9395 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9398 @item prepare-body-function
9399 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9400 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9401 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9403 @item article-transform-function
9404 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9405 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9406 body of the article.
9408 @item generate-head-function
9409 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9410 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9411 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9412 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9416 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9421 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9422 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9423 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9424 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9426 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9427 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9428 (subtype digest guess))
9431 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9432 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9433 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9434 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9435 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9437 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9438 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9439 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9440 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9441 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9442 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9443 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9444 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9445 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9446 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9447 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9455 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9456 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9457 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9459 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9460 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9461 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9464 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9465 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9466 that interested in doing things properly.
9468 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9469 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9475 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9476 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
9477 packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
9480 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9483 You put the packet in your home directory.
9486 You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
9489 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9493 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9497 You transfer this packet to the server.
9500 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9503 You then repeat until you die.
9507 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9508 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9511 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9512 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9513 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9518 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9522 @kindex G s b (Group)
9523 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9524 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9525 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9526 process/prefix convention.
9529 @kindex G s w (Group)
9530 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9531 Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9534 @kindex G s s (Group)
9535 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9536 Send all replies from the replies packet
9537 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9540 @kindex G s p (Group)
9541 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9542 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9545 @kindex G s r (Group)
9546 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9547 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9550 @kindex O s (Summary)
9551 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9552 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9553 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9559 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9564 @item gnus-soup-directory
9565 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9566 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9567 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9569 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9570 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9571 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9572 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
9574 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9575 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9576 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9579 @item gnus-soup-packer
9580 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9581 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9582 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9584 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9585 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9586 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9587 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9589 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9590 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9591 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9593 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9594 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9595 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9596 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9602 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9605 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9606 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9607 you can read them at leisure.
9609 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9613 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9614 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9615 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9616 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9618 @item nnsoup-directory
9619 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9620 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9621 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9623 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9624 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9625 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9626 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9628 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9629 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9630 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9631 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9632 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9634 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9635 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9636 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9637 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9639 @item nnsoup-active-file
9640 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9641 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9642 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9643 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9644 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9647 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9648 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9649 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9651 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9652 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9653 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9654 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9656 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9657 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9658 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9661 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9662 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9663 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9670 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9672 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9673 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9674 more for that to happen.
9676 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9677 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9678 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9681 In specific, this is what it does:
9684 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9685 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9688 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9689 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9690 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9694 @subsection Web Searches
9699 @cindex Usenet searches
9700 @cindex searching the Usenet
9702 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9703 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9704 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9705 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9706 searches without having to use a browser.
9708 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
9709 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
9710 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
9711 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
9712 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
9714 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
9715 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
9716 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
9717 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
9718 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
9719 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
9720 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
9721 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
9722 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
9723 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
9724 read the group as read.
9726 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
9727 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
9728 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
9729 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
9730 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
9731 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
9733 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
9734 to use @code{nnweb}.
9736 Virtual server variables:
9741 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
9742 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
9745 @vindex nnweb-search
9746 The search string to feed to the search engine.
9748 @item nnweb-max-hits
9749 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
9750 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
9753 @item nnweb-type-definition
9754 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
9755 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
9756 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
9761 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
9765 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
9768 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
9771 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
9775 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
9782 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
9783 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
9784 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
9787 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
9788 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
9789 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
9791 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
9797 @item nngateway-address
9798 @vindex nngateway-address
9799 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
9801 @item nngateway-header-transformation
9802 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
9803 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
9804 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
9805 transformation should be called, and defaults to
9806 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
9807 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
9810 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
9811 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
9812 @code{Newsgroups} header:
9815 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
9818 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
9821 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
9826 So, to use this, simply say something like:
9829 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
9833 @node Combined Groups
9834 @section Combined Groups
9836 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
9840 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
9841 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
9845 @node Virtual Groups
9846 @subsection Virtual Groups
9848 @cindex virtual groups
9850 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
9853 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
9854 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
9855 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
9857 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
9858 regexp to match component groups.
9860 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
9861 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
9862 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
9863 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
9866 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
9867 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
9870 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
9873 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
9874 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
9876 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
9877 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
9878 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
9879 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
9882 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
9885 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
9886 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
9887 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
9888 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
9889 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
9891 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
9892 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
9893 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
9895 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
9896 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
9897 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
9898 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
9899 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
9900 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
9901 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
9902 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
9903 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
9904 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
9905 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
9908 @node Kibozed Groups
9909 @subsection Kibozed Groups
9913 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
9914 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
9915 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
9916 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
9919 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
9922 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
9923 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
9924 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
9925 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
9927 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
9928 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
9929 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
9931 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
9932 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
9933 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
9934 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
9935 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
9936 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
9937 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
9938 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
9940 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
9941 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
9942 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
9943 Stranger things have happened.
9945 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
9946 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
9948 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
9949 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
9950 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
9951 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
9952 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
9953 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
9956 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
9957 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
9964 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
9965 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
9966 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
9969 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
9970 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
9971 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
9972 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
9973 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
9975 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
9976 before generating the summary buffer.
9978 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
9979 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
9980 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
9982 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
9983 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
9984 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
9985 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
9988 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
9989 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
9990 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
9991 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
9992 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
9993 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus @emph{knows} what you read.
9994 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
9995 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
9996 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
9997 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
9998 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
9999 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10000 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10001 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10002 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10006 @node Summary Score Commands
10007 @section Summary Score Commands
10008 @cindex score commands
10010 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10011 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10012 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10013 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10014 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10016 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10017 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10018 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10019 score file the current one.
10021 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10026 @kindex V s (Summary)
10027 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10028 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10031 @kindex V S (Summary)
10032 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10033 Display the score of the current article
10034 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10037 @kindex V t (Summary)
10038 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10039 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10040 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10043 @kindex V R (Summary)
10044 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10045 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10046 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10047 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10048 effect you're having.
10051 @kindex V a (Summary)
10052 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10053 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10054 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10057 @kindex V c (Summary)
10058 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10059 Make a different score file the current
10060 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10063 @kindex V e (Summary)
10064 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10065 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10066 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10070 @kindex V f (Summary)
10071 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10072 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10073 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10076 @kindex V F (Summary)
10077 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10078 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10079 after editing score files.
10082 @kindex V C (Summary)
10083 @findex gnus-score-customize
10084 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10085 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10088 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10089 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10090 Increase the score of the current article
10091 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10094 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10095 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10096 Lower the score of the current article
10097 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10100 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10105 @kindex V m (Summary)
10106 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10107 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10108 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10111 @kindex V x (Summary)
10112 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10113 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10114 expunge all articles below this score
10115 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10118 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10119 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10124 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10125 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10127 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10128 keys are available:
10132 Score on the author name.
10135 Score on the subject line.
10138 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10141 Score on thread---the References line.
10147 Score on the number of lines.
10150 Score on the Message-ID.
10153 Score on followups.
10163 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10164 what headers you are scoring on.
10176 Substring matching.
10208 Greater than number.
10213 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10214 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10215 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10219 Temporary score entry.
10222 Permanent score entry.
10225 Immediately scoring.
10230 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10231 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10232 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10233 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10235 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10236 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10237 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10238 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10239 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10241 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10242 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10243 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10246 @node Group Score Commands
10247 @section Group Score Commands
10248 @cindex group score commands
10250 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10255 @kindex W f (Group)
10256 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10257 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10258 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10259 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10264 @node Score Variables
10265 @section Score Variables
10266 @cindex score variables
10270 @item gnus-use-scoring
10271 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10272 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10273 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10275 @item gnus-kill-killed
10276 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10277 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10278 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10279 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10280 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10281 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10282 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10284 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10285 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10286 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10287 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10288 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10290 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10291 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10292 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10293 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10295 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10296 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10297 @cindex score cache
10298 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10299 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10300 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10301 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10302 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10303 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10304 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10307 @item gnus-save-score
10308 @vindex gnus-save-score
10309 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10310 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10311 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10313 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10314 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10315 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10316 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10317 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10318 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10319 manually entered data.
10321 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10322 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10323 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10325 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10326 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10327 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10328 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10330 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10331 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10332 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10333 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10335 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10336 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10337 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10338 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10340 Predefined functions available are:
10343 @item gnus-score-find-single
10344 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10345 Only apply the group's own score file.
10347 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10348 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10349 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10350 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10351 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10352 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10353 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10354 then a regexp match is done.
10356 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10357 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10359 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10360 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10361 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10362 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10364 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10365 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10366 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10367 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10368 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10371 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10372 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10373 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10374 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10375 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10376 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10379 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10380 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10381 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10382 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10383 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10385 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10386 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10387 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10388 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10389 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10390 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10391 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10394 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10395 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10396 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10401 @node Score File Format
10402 @section Score File Format
10403 @cindex score file format
10405 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10406 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10407 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10409 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10413 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10415 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10417 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10419 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10424 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10428 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10429 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10430 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10431 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10435 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10437 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10438 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10439 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10441 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10446 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10447 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10448 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10449 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10450 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10451 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10452 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10453 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10454 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10455 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10456 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10457 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10458 to articles that matches these score entries.
10460 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10461 score entry has one to four elements.
10465 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10466 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10470 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10471 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10472 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10473 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10474 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10475 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10478 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10479 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10480 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10481 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10482 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
10485 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10486 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10487 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10488 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10491 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10492 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10493 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10494 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10495 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10496 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10497 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10498 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10499 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10500 instead, if you feel like.
10503 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10504 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
10507 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
10508 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
10509 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
10510 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
10511 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
10512 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
10513 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
10517 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
10518 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
10519 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
10520 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
10521 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
10522 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
10523 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
10524 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
10527 @item Head, Body, All
10528 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10532 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that followup to
10533 some author. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header uses.
10536 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that are part of
10537 a thread. Uses the same match types as the @code{References} header
10543 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10544 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10547 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10548 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10550 @item mark-and-expunge
10551 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10552 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10555 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10556 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10557 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10558 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10559 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10562 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10563 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10566 @item exclude-files
10567 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. This files will
10568 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10572 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10573 ignored when handling global score files.
10576 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10577 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10580 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10581 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10582 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10583 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10585 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10589 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10592 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10593 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10594 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10595 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10596 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10598 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10599 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10600 ordinary scoring rules.
10603 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10604 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10605 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10606 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10607 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10608 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10609 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10610 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10611 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10612 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10613 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10617 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10618 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10619 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10620 file for a number of groups.
10623 @cindex local variables
10624 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10625 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10626 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10627 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10632 @node Score File Editing
10633 @section Score File Editing
10635 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10636 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10637 with a mode for that.
10639 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10640 additional commands:
10645 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10646 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10647 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10648 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10651 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10652 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10653 Insert the current date in numerical format
10654 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10655 you were wondering.
10658 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10659 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10660 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10661 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10662 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10667 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10669 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10670 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10672 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10673 e} to begin editing score files.
10676 @node Adaptive Scoring
10677 @section Adaptive Scoring
10678 @cindex adaptive scoring
10680 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10681 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10682 stupidity, to be precise.
10684 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10685 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10686 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10687 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10688 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10689 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10690 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10691 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10692 variable to @code{(word line)}.
10694 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10695 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
10696 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
10697 might look something like this:
10700 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10701 '((gnus-unread-mark)
10702 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
10703 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
10704 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
10705 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
10706 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
10707 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
10708 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
10709 (gnus-ancient-mark)
10710 (gnus-low-score-mark)
10711 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
10714 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
10715 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
10716 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
10717 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
10718 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
10719 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
10722 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
10723 will be applied to each article.
10725 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
10726 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
10727 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
10728 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
10730 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
10731 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
10732 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
10733 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
10735 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
10736 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
10737 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
10738 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10739 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10740 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10742 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10743 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10744 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10745 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10746 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10747 aspirins afterwards.)
10749 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
10750 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
10751 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
10753 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10754 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10755 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10757 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10758 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10759 let you use different rules in different groups.
10761 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10762 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10763 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10766 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10767 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10768 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10769 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10770 the length of the match is less than
10771 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10772 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10775 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10776 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
10777 headers. If you adapt on words, the
10778 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
10779 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
10782 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10783 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
10784 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
10785 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
10786 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
10789 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
10790 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
10791 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
10792 score with 30 points.
10794 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
10795 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
10796 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
10797 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
10798 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
10800 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
10801 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
10802 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
10803 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
10805 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
10806 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
10807 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
10810 @node Home Score File
10811 @section Home Score File
10813 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
10814 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
10815 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
10816 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
10818 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
10819 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
10820 could perhaps use the same home score file.
10822 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
10823 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
10828 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
10832 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
10833 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
10837 A list. The elements in this list can be:
10841 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
10842 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
10845 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
10846 the home score file.
10849 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
10852 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
10857 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
10860 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10861 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
10864 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
10865 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
10868 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10869 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
10872 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
10874 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
10875 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
10876 their own home score files:
10879 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10880 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
10881 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
10882 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
10883 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
10886 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
10887 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
10888 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
10889 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
10890 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
10892 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
10893 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
10894 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
10895 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
10896 precedence over this variable.
10899 @node Followups To Yourself
10900 @section Followups To Yourself
10902 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
10903 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
10904 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
10905 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
10906 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
10907 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
10911 @item gnus-score-followup-article
10912 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
10913 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
10916 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
10917 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
10918 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
10922 @vindex message-sent-hook
10923 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
10924 @code{message-sent-hook}.
10926 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
10927 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
10931 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
10932 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
10935 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
10936 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
10941 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
10944 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
10945 is system-dependent.
10949 @section Scoring Tips
10950 @cindex scoring tips
10956 @cindex scoring crossposts
10957 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
10958 the @code{Xref} header.
10960 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
10963 @item Multiple crossposts
10964 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
10965 more than, say, 3 groups:
10967 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
10970 @item Matching on the body
10971 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
10972 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
10973 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
10974 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
10975 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
10976 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
10977 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
10980 @item Marking as read
10981 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
10982 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
10983 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
10987 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
10989 @item Negated character classes
10990 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
10991 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
10992 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
10996 @node Reverse Scoring
10997 @section Reverse Scoring
10998 @cindex reverse scoring
11000 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11001 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11002 like this in your score file:
11006 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11011 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11012 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11015 @node Global Score Files
11016 @section Global Score Files
11017 @cindex global score files
11019 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11020 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11021 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11023 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11024 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11025 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11027 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11028 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11029 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11030 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11031 files are applicable to which group.
11033 Say you want to use the score file
11034 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11035 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11038 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11039 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11040 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11043 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11044 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11045 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11046 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11047 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11049 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11050 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11052 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11053 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11054 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11055 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11056 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11057 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11059 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11065 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11067 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11069 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11071 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11072 lowered out of existence.
11074 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11075 articles completely.
11078 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11079 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11080 old articles for a long time.
11083 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11084 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11085 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11086 holding our breath yet?
11090 @section Kill Files
11093 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11094 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11095 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11097 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11098 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11099 files into score files.
11101 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11102 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11103 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11104 that isn't a very good idea.
11106 Normal kill files look like this:
11109 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11110 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11114 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11115 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11117 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11118 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11121 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11126 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11127 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11128 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11131 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11132 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11133 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11136 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11141 @kindex M-k (Group)
11142 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11143 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11146 @kindex M-K (Group)
11147 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11148 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11151 Kill file variables:
11154 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11155 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11156 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11157 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11158 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11159 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11160 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11162 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11163 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11164 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11165 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11168 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11169 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11170 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11171 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11172 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11173 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11174 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11175 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11176 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11178 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11179 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11180 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11189 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11190 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11191 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11193 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11194 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11195 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11196 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11197 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11198 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11199 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11200 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11204 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11205 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11206 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11207 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11211 @node Using GroupLens
11212 @subsection Using GroupLens
11214 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11216 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11217 better bit in town is at the moment.
11219 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11223 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11224 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11225 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11226 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11228 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11229 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11230 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11231 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11233 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11234 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11235 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11239 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11240 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11241 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11242 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11243 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11244 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11247 @node Rating Articles
11248 @subsection Rating Articles
11250 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11251 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11252 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11253 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11256 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11261 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11262 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11263 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11266 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11267 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11268 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11269 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11270 threads in rec.humor.
11274 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11275 the score of the article you're reading.
11280 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11281 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11282 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11285 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11286 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11287 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11291 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11292 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11295 @node Displaying Predictions
11296 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11298 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11299 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11300 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11301 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11302 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11304 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11305 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11306 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11307 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11308 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11309 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11310 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11311 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11312 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11313 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11314 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11315 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11316 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11318 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11319 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11320 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11321 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11323 The following are legal values for that variable.
11326 @item prediction-spot
11327 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11330 @item confidence-interval
11331 A numeric confidence interval.
11333 @item prediction-bar
11334 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11336 @item confidence-bar
11337 Numerical confidence.
11339 @item confidence-spot
11340 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11342 @item prediction-num
11343 Plain-old numeric value.
11345 @item confidence-plus-minus
11346 Prediction +/i confidence.
11351 @node GroupLens Variables
11352 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11356 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11357 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11358 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11359 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11360 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11362 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11363 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11366 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11367 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11369 @item grouplens-score-offset
11370 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11371 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11374 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11375 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11376 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11381 @node Advanced Scoring
11382 @section Advanced Scoring
11384 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11385 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11386 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11387 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11388 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11390 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11394 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11395 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11396 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11400 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11401 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11403 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11404 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11405 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11406 non-@code{nil} value.
11408 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11409 operator, and various match operators.
11416 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11417 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11418 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11423 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11424 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11425 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11430 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11431 inverse of the value of its argument.
11435 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11436 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11437 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11438 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11439 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11440 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11441 the ancestry you want to go.
11443 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11444 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11445 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11446 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11447 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11450 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11451 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11453 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11454 when he's talking about Gnus:
11458 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11459 ("subject" "Gnus"))
11465 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
11469 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11476 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
11477 really don't want to read what he's written:
11481 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11482 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
11486 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
11487 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
11488 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
11495 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
11496 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
11497 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
11498 ("body" "white.*socks"))
11502 The possibilities are endless.
11505 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
11506 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
11508 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
11509 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
11510 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
11511 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
11512 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
11513 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
11514 @samp{subject}) first.
11516 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
11517 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
11528 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
11529 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11535 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11542 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11543 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11548 @section Score Decays
11549 @cindex score decays
11552 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11553 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11554 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11555 use them in any sensible way.
11557 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11558 @findex gnus-decay-score
11559 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11560 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11561 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11562 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11563 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11564 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11565 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11566 definition of that function:
11569 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11572 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11574 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11576 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11579 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11580 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11581 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11582 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11586 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11589 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11592 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11596 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11597 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11598 the new score, which should be an integer.
11600 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11601 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11608 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11609 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11610 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11611 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11612 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11613 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11614 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11615 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11616 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11617 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11618 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11619 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
11620 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11621 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
11622 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11626 @node Process/Prefix
11627 @section Process/Prefix
11628 @cindex process/prefix convention
11630 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11631 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11633 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11634 command to be performed on.
11638 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11639 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11640 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11641 with the current one.
11643 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11644 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11645 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11647 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11648 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11651 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11652 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11654 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11657 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11658 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11659 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11660 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11662 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11663 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11664 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11665 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11666 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11667 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
11668 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
11669 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
11673 @section Interactive
11674 @cindex interaction
11678 @item gnus-novice-user
11679 @vindex gnus-novice-user
11680 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
11681 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
11682 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
11683 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
11686 @item gnus-expert-user
11687 @vindex gnus-expert-user
11688 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
11689 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
11690 matter how strange.
11692 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
11693 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
11694 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
11695 is @code{t} by default.
11697 @item gnus-interactive-exit
11698 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
11699 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11704 @node Formatting Variables
11705 @section Formatting Variables
11706 @cindex formatting variables
11708 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
11709 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
11710 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
11711 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
11712 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
11715 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
11716 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
11717 lots of percentages everywhere.
11720 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
11721 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
11722 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
11723 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
11726 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
11727 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
11728 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
11729 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
11730 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
11731 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
11732 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
11733 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
11735 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
11736 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
11738 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
11739 @findex gnus-update-format
11740 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
11741 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
11742 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
11743 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
11747 @node Formatting Basics
11748 @subsection Formatting Basics
11750 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
11751 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
11752 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
11754 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
11755 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
11756 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
11757 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
11758 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
11761 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
11762 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
11763 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
11764 less than 4 characters wide.
11767 @node Advanced Formatting
11768 @subsection Advanced Formatting
11770 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
11771 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
11772 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
11773 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
11775 These are the legal modifiers:
11780 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
11784 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
11789 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
11792 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
11797 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
11800 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
11803 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
11806 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
11810 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
11811 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
11812 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
11813 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
11814 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
11815 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
11816 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
11818 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
11819 last operation, padding.
11821 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
11822 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
11823 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
11824 @xref{Compilation}.
11827 @node User-Defined Specs
11828 @subsection User-Defined Specs
11830 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
11831 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
11832 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
11833 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
11834 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
11835 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
11836 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
11837 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
11838 should protect against that.
11840 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
11841 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
11842 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
11843 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
11847 @node Formatting Fonts
11848 @subsection Formatting Fonts
11850 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
11851 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
11852 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
11853 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
11856 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
11857 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
11858 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
11859 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
11860 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
11861 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
11863 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
11866 ;; Create three face types.
11867 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
11868 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
11870 ;; We want the article count to be in
11871 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
11872 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
11873 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
11875 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
11876 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
11878 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
11879 (setq gnus-group-line-format
11880 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
11883 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
11884 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
11886 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
11887 mode-line variables.
11890 @node Windows Configuration
11891 @section Windows Configuration
11892 @cindex windows configuration
11894 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
11896 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
11897 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
11898 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
11899 @code{t} by default.
11901 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
11902 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
11903 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
11906 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
11907 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
11908 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11912 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
11913 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
11914 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
11915 possible names is listed below.
11917 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
11918 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
11921 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11925 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
11926 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
11927 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
11928 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
11929 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
11930 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
11931 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
11932 size spec per split.
11934 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
11937 Here's a more complicated example:
11940 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
11941 (summary 0.25 point)
11942 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
11946 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
11947 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
11948 occupy, not a percentage.
11950 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
11951 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
11952 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
11953 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
11954 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
11957 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
11960 (article (horizontal 1.0
11965 (summary 0.25 point)
11970 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
11971 @code{horizontal} thingie?
11973 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
11974 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
11975 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
11976 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
11977 the screen is to be given to this strip.
11979 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
11980 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
11981 lines from the splits.
11983 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
11987 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
11988 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
11989 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
11990 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
11991 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
11992 size = number | frame-params
11993 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
11996 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
11997 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
11998 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
11999 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12001 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12002 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12003 @cindex window height
12004 @cindex window width
12005 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12006 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12007 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12008 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12009 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12010 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12012 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12013 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12014 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12015 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12017 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12018 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12019 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12020 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12021 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12022 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12023 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12024 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12025 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12026 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12027 configuration list.
12030 (gnus-configure-frame
12034 (article 0.3 point))
12042 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12043 @code{frame} split:
12046 (gnus-configure-frame
12049 (summary 0.25 point)
12051 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12052 (user-position . t)
12053 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12058 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12059 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12060 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12061 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12062 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12063 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12066 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12067 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12069 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12070 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12071 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12072 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12073 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
12074 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12076 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12077 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12078 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12082 (message (horizontal 1.0
12083 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12085 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12090 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12091 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12092 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12093 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12094 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12097 (gnus-add-configuration
12098 '(article (vertical 1.0
12100 (summary .25 point)
12104 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12105 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12106 Gnus has been loaded.
12108 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12109 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12110 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12111 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12112 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12116 @section Compilation
12117 @cindex compilation
12118 @cindex byte-compilation
12120 @findex gnus-compile
12122 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12123 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12124 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12125 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12126 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12127 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12130 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12131 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12132 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12133 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12134 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12135 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12136 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12140 @section Mode Lines
12143 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12144 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12145 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12146 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12147 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12148 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12149 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12152 @cindex display-time
12154 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12155 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12156 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12157 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12158 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12159 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12160 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12161 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12164 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12166 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12167 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12169 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12170 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12171 (length display-time-string)))))
12174 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12175 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12178 @node Highlighting and Menus
12179 @section Highlighting and Menus
12181 @cindex highlighting
12184 @vindex gnus-visual
12185 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12186 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12187 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12190 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12191 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12194 @item group-highlight
12195 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12196 @item summary-highlight
12197 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12198 @item article-highlight
12199 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12201 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12203 Create menus in the group buffer.
12205 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12207 Create menus in the article buffer.
12209 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12211 Create menus in the server buffer.
12213 Create menus in the score buffers.
12215 Create menus in all buffers.
12218 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12219 buffers, you could say something like:
12222 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12225 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12228 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12231 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12232 in all Gnus buffers.
12234 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12237 @item gnus-mouse-face
12238 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12239 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12240 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12242 @item gnus-display-type
12243 @vindex gnus-display-type
12244 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
12245 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
12246 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
12247 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
12248 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12250 @item gnus-background-mode
12251 @vindex gnus-background-mode
12252 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
12253 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
12254 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
12255 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
12256 `gnus-display-type'.
12259 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12263 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12264 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12265 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12267 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12268 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12269 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12271 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12272 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12273 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12275 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12276 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12277 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12279 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12280 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12281 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12283 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12284 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12285 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12296 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12297 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12298 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12299 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12300 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12304 @vindex gnus-carpal
12305 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12306 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12307 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12312 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12313 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12314 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12316 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12317 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12318 Face used on buttons.
12320 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12321 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12322 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12324 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12325 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12326 Buttons in the group buffer.
12328 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12329 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12330 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12332 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12333 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12334 Buttons in the server buffer.
12336 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12337 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12338 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12341 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12342 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12343 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12351 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12352 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12353 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12354 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12355 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12357 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12358 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12359 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12361 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12362 been idle for thirty minutes:
12365 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12368 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12372 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12375 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12376 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12377 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12379 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12380 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12381 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12382 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12384 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12385 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12386 @var{idle} minutes.
12388 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12389 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12392 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12393 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12394 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12396 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12397 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12398 seconds. This is @code{60} by default. If you change that variable,
12399 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12401 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12402 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12403 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12405 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12406 your @file{.gnus} file:
12408 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12410 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12413 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12414 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12415 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12416 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12417 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12418 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12419 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12420 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12422 @findex gnus-demon-init
12423 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12424 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12425 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12426 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12427 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12429 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12430 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12431 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12440 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12441 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12443 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12444 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12445 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12446 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12449 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12450 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12451 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12452 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12454 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12455 this will make spam disappear.
12457 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12460 @item gnus-use-nocem
12461 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12462 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12465 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12466 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12467 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12468 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
12470 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
12471 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
12472 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
12473 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
12474 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
12475 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
12477 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
12480 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
12481 @cindex Chris Lewis
12482 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
12483 usenet abuse than anybody else.
12486 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
12487 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
12488 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
12490 @item jem@@xpat.com;
12492 Jem---Korean despammer who is getting very busy these days.
12494 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
12495 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
12496 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
12499 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
12500 ones you want to listen to.
12502 @item gnus-nocem-directory
12503 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
12504 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
12505 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
12507 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12508 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
12509 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
12510 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
12511 might then see old spam.
12519 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
12520 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
12521 over your shoulder as you read news.
12524 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
12525 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
12526 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
12527 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
12528 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
12533 @subsection Picon Basics
12535 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
12538 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12539 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12540 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12541 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12542 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12543 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12544 @code{GIF} formats.
12547 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
12548 your Web browser at
12549 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12551 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12552 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12553 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12556 @node Picon Requirements
12557 @subsection Picon Requirements
12559 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12560 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12563 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12565 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12566 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12567 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12568 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12572 @subsection Easy Picons
12574 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12575 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12578 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12579 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12580 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12581 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12586 @subsection Hard Picons
12588 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12589 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12590 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12591 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12592 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12596 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12597 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12598 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12599 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12600 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12601 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12602 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12603 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
12607 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12608 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12610 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12611 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12612 displayed at the right time.
12614 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12615 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12617 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12618 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12619 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12620 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12621 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12623 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12624 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12625 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12626 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12627 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12628 is set to @code{article}.
12630 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12631 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12632 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12633 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12637 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12638 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12641 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12645 @node Picon Configuration
12646 @subsection Picon Configuration
12648 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12649 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12650 don't need to worry about.
12653 @item gnus-picons-database
12654 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12655 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12656 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12657 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12659 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12660 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12661 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12664 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12665 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12666 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
12667 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
12669 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
12670 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
12671 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
12672 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
12673 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
12675 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12676 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12677 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
12678 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
12679 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
12680 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
12682 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12683 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12684 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
12685 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
12687 @item gnus-picons-buffer
12688 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
12689 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
12690 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
12699 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
12700 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
12701 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
12703 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
12704 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
12705 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
12706 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
12707 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
12708 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
12709 @code{undo} function.
12711 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
12712 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
12713 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
12714 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
12715 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
12716 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
12717 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
12718 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
12719 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
12720 never be totally undoable.
12722 @findex gnus-undo-mode
12723 @vindex gnus-use-undo
12725 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
12726 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
12727 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
12728 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
12733 @section Moderation
12736 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
12737 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
12738 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
12741 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
12745 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
12748 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
12750 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
12755 You split your incoming mail by matching on
12756 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
12757 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
12760 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
12761 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
12764 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
12765 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
12769 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
12772 (setq gnus-moderated-list
12773 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
12777 @node XEmacs Enhancements
12778 @section XEmacs Enhancements
12781 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
12782 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
12785 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
12786 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
12787 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
12788 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
12789 unusual directory structure.
12791 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
12792 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
12793 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
12794 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
12796 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
12797 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
12798 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
12799 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
12800 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
12801 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
12803 @item gnus-use-toolbar
12804 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
12805 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
12806 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
12807 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
12809 @item gnus-group-toolbar
12810 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
12811 The toolbar in the group buffer.
12813 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
12814 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
12815 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
12817 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
12818 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
12819 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
12821 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
12822 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
12823 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
12829 @node Various Various
12830 @section Various Various
12836 @item gnus-directory
12837 @vindex gnus-directory
12838 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
12839 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
12840 if that variable isn't set.
12842 @item gnus-default-directory
12843 @vindex gnus-default-directory
12844 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
12845 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
12846 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
12847 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
12848 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
12849 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
12852 @vindex gnus-verbose
12853 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
12854 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
12855 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
12856 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
12857 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
12859 @item gnus-verbose-backends
12860 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
12861 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
12862 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
12864 @item nnheader-max-head-length
12865 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
12866 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
12867 as little as possible. This variable (default @code{4096}) specifies
12868 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
12869 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
12870 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
12871 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
12872 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
12875 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
12876 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
12877 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
12878 the operation described above.
12880 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12881 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12883 @cindex illegal characters in file names
12884 @cindex characters in file names
12885 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
12886 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
12887 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
12890 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12894 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
12895 Windows (phooey) systems.
12897 @item gnus-hidden-properties
12898 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
12899 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
12900 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
12901 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
12903 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
12904 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
12905 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
12906 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
12907 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
12909 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
12910 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
12911 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
12920 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
12921 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
12923 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
12925 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
12930 Not because of victories @*
12933 but for the common sunshine,@*
12935 the largess of the spring.
12938 but for the day's work done@*
12939 as well as I was able;@*
12940 not for a seat upon the dais@*
12941 but at the common table.@*
12946 @chapter Appendices
12949 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
12950 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
12951 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
12952 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
12953 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
12954 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
12955 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
12963 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
12964 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
12966 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
12967 can point your (feh!) web browser to
12968 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
12969 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
12970 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
12972 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
12973 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
12974 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
12975 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
12976 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
12977 appropriate name, don't you think?)
12979 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
12980 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
12981 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
12982 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
12984 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
12985 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
12987 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
12988 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
12990 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
12993 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
12994 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
12995 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
12996 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
12997 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
12998 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
12999 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13006 What's the point of Gnus?
13008 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13009 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13010 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13011 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13012 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13013 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13014 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13015 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13016 keep track of millions of people who post?
13018 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13019 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13020 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13021 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13022 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13023 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13024 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13025 of you to explore and invent.
13027 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13030 @node Compatibility
13031 @subsection Compatibility
13033 @cindex compatibility
13034 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13035 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13036 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13041 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13045 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13048 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13051 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13052 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13053 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13054 important variables have their values copied into their global
13055 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13056 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13058 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13059 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13060 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13061 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13062 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13066 @cindex highlighting
13067 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13068 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13069 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13070 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13071 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13072 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13075 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13076 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13077 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13078 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13080 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13081 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13082 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13083 to stop doing it the old way.
13085 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13087 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13089 @cindex reporting bugs
13091 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13092 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13093 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13097 @subsection Conformity
13099 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13100 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13107 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13111 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13113 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13114 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13115 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13116 the next inspection.
13118 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13119 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13120 We do have some breaches to this one.
13125 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13126 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13129 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13130 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13131 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13132 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13133 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13136 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
13137 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
13138 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
13139 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
13140 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
13141 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
13146 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13147 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13152 @subsection Emacsen
13158 Gnus should work on :
13163 Emacs 19.30 and up.
13166 XEmacs 19.13 and up.
13169 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.30 and up.
13173 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13174 reliably, at least.
13176 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various platforms:
13181 The mouse-face on Gnus lines under Emacs and Mule is delimited to
13182 certain parts of the lines while they cover the entire line under
13186 The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
13187 the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
13190 XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
13193 Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
13196 Emacs 19.26-19.28 have tangible hidden headers, which can be a bit
13203 @subsection Contributors
13204 @cindex contributors
13206 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13207 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13208 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13209 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13210 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13211 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13212 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13213 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13214 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13215 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13217 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13223 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13226 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13227 well as numerous other things).
13230 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13233 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13234 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13237 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13238 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13241 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13244 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13247 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13250 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13253 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13254 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13257 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13260 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13263 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13266 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13270 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13273 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13276 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13279 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13283 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13292 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13296 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13305 Massimo Campostrini,
13309 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13323 Francois Felix Ingrand,
13326 Thor Kristoffersen,
13361 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13364 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13365 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13369 @subsection New Features
13370 @cindex new features
13373 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13374 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
13375 * Red Gnus:: The future.
13378 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13379 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13380 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13384 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13386 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
13391 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13392 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13395 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13396 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13399 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13402 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13403 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13404 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13407 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13408 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
13409 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
13410 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13413 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
13414 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13417 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
13418 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
13419 (@pxref{The Active File}).
13422 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
13423 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
13426 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
13427 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
13428 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13431 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
13432 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
13433 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
13436 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
13437 the @file{.emacs} file.
13440 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
13441 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13444 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
13445 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
13448 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
13449 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13452 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
13453 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
13456 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
13457 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13460 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
13463 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
13464 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
13467 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
13468 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
13471 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
13472 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
13475 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
13478 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
13479 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13482 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
13486 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
13490 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
13491 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
13494 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
13500 @node September Gnus
13501 @subsubsection September Gnus
13503 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
13508 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
13509 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
13513 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
13514 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
13518 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
13522 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
13523 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
13526 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
13530 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13533 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
13536 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
13539 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
13543 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
13544 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
13547 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
13551 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
13555 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
13559 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
13563 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
13566 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
13567 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
13570 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
13574 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
13575 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
13578 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
13581 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
13582 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
13583 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
13586 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
13590 The Gnus cache is much faster.
13593 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
13597 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
13598 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13601 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
13602 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
13605 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
13606 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13609 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
13610 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
13611 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
13614 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
13615 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
13618 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
13621 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13624 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13625 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
13629 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
13632 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
13635 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
13636 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
13639 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
13643 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
13646 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
13649 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
13653 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
13656 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
13660 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
13663 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
13666 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
13667 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
13670 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
13671 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
13675 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
13676 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
13679 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
13683 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
13684 buffer to allow easier treatment.
13687 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
13690 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
13694 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
13698 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
13699 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
13702 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
13706 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
13707 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
13710 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
13711 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13714 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
13718 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
13721 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
13722 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers)
13726 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
13729 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
13735 @subsubsection Red Gnus
13737 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
13742 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
13745 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
13746 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
13749 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
13750 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
13754 Article washing status can be displayed in the
13755 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
13758 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
13761 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
13762 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
13765 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
13769 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
13770 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
13773 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
13774 Server Internals}).
13777 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
13781 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
13784 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
13785 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
13788 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
13789 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
13790 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
13793 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
13794 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
13797 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
13798 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
13801 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
13805 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
13806 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
13809 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
13810 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
13813 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
13817 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
13820 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
13824 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
13825 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
13828 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
13829 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
13832 A new command for reading collections of documents
13833 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
13834 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
13837 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
13841 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
13842 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
13845 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
13846 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
13847 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
13850 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
13851 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
13855 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
13859 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
13863 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
13867 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
13871 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
13872 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
13877 @node Newest Features
13878 @subsection Newest Features
13881 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
13884 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
13888 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
13890 Really do unbinhexing.
13893 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
13894 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
13896 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>} is where the actual
13897 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
13898 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
13903 @section The Manual
13907 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
13908 either @code{texi2dvi}
13910 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
13911 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
13913 to get what you hold in your hands now.
13915 The following conventions have been used:
13920 This is a @samp{string}
13923 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
13926 This is a @file{file}
13929 This is a @code{symbol}
13933 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
13937 (setq flargnoze "yes")
13940 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
13943 (setq flumphel 'yes)
13946 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
13947 ever get them confused.
13951 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
13952 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
13953 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
13954 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
13955 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
13956 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
13957 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
13964 @section Terminology
13966 @cindex terminology
13971 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
13972 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
13973 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
13974 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
13975 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
13979 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
13980 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
13981 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
13982 not posting, and replying is not following up.
13986 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
13990 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
13995 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
13996 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
13997 is all done by the backends.
14001 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14002 default, way of getting news.
14006 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14007 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14011 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14012 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14016 A message that has been posted as news.
14019 @cindex mail message
14020 A message that has been mailed.
14024 A mail message or news article
14028 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14033 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14038 A line from the head of an article.
14042 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14043 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14047 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14048 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14049 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14050 normal @sc{head} format.
14054 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14055 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14056 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14057 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14058 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14059 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14061 @item killed groups
14062 @cindex killed groups
14063 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14064 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14066 @item zombie groups
14067 @cindex zombie groups
14068 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14071 @cindex active file
14072 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14073 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14074 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14077 @cindex bogus groups
14078 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14079 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14080 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14084 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14086 @item select method
14087 @cindex select method
14088 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14091 @item virtual server
14092 @cindex virtual server
14093 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14094 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14095 whole is a virtual server.
14099 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14100 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14103 @item ephemeral groups
14104 @cindex ephemeral groups
14105 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14106 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14107 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14110 @cindex solid groups
14111 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14112 group buffer are solid groups.
14117 @node Customization
14118 @section Customization
14119 @cindex general customization
14121 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14122 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14123 for some quite common situations.
14126 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14127 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14128 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14129 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14133 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14134 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14136 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14137 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14138 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14142 @item gnus-read-active-file
14143 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14144 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14145 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
14146 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14147 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14149 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14150 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14151 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14152 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14156 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14157 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14159 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14160 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14161 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14165 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14166 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14167 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14168 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14169 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14171 @item gnus-visible-headers
14172 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14173 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14174 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14175 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14177 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14178 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14180 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14181 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14182 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14185 @item gnus-use-full-window
14186 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14187 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14188 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14189 want to read them anyway.
14191 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14192 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14195 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14196 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14197 lines, which might save some time.
14201 @node Little Disk Space
14202 @subsection Little Disk Space
14205 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14206 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14210 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14211 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14212 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14213 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14216 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14217 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14218 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14219 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14220 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14226 @subsection Slow Machine
14227 @cindex slow machine
14229 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14230 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14232 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14233 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14235 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14236 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14237 summary buffer faster.
14239 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14240 processing a bit faster.
14243 @node Troubleshooting
14244 @section Troubleshooting
14245 @cindex troubleshooting
14247 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14255 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14258 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14259 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14263 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14264 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14265 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14266 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14269 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14273 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14274 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14275 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14276 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14277 something like that.
14280 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14283 @cindex reporting bugs
14285 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14287 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14288 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14289 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14290 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14292 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14293 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14294 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14295 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14298 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14299 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14300 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14301 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14302 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14303 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14305 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14306 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14307 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14310 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14311 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14313 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14314 @cindex ding mailing list
14315 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14316 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14319 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14320 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14322 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14323 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14324 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14325 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14328 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14329 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14330 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14331 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14332 and general method of operations.
14335 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14336 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14337 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14338 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14339 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14340 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14341 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14345 @node Backend Interface
14346 @subsection Backend Interface
14348 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14349 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14350 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14351 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14352 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14353 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14355 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14356 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14357 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14358 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14359 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14360 been opened, the function should fail.
14362 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14363 name. Take this example:
14367 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14368 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14371 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14372 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14374 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14375 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14376 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14378 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14379 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14380 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14382 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14383 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14384 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14385 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14386 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14387 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14390 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14391 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14392 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14393 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14396 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
14399 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
14402 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
14403 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
14404 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
14405 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
14406 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
14410 @node Required Backend Functions
14411 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
14415 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
14417 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
14418 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
14419 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
14420 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
14422 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
14423 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
14424 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
14425 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
14427 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
14428 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
14429 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
14430 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
14431 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
14432 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
14433 number, do maximum fetches.
14435 Here's an example HEAD:
14438 221 1056 Article retrieved.
14439 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
14440 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
14441 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
14442 Subject: Re: Something very droll
14443 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
14444 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
14446 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
14447 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
14448 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
14452 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
14453 these in the data buffer.
14455 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
14459 head = error / valid-head
14460 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
14461 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
14462 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
14463 header = <text> eol
14466 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
14467 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
14471 nov-buffer = *nov-line
14472 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
14473 field = <text except TAB>
14476 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
14480 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
14482 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
14483 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
14485 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
14486 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
14487 server. In fact, it should do so.
14489 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
14490 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
14493 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
14495 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
14496 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
14499 There should be no data returned.
14502 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
14504 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
14505 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
14506 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
14507 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
14509 There should be no data returned.
14512 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
14514 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
14515 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
14516 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
14517 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
14519 There should be no data returned.
14522 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
14524 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
14526 There should be no data returned.
14529 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
14531 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
14532 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
14533 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
14534 it would be nice if that were possible.
14536 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
14537 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
14538 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
14539 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
14540 its article buffer.
14542 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
14543 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
14544 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
14545 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
14546 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
14547 on successful article retrievement.
14550 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14552 Make @var{group} the current group.
14554 There should be no data returned by this function.
14557 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
14559 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
14560 making @var{group} the current group.
14562 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
14565 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
14568 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
14571 The first number is the status, which should be @code{211}. Next is the
14572 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
14573 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
14574 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
14575 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
14576 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
14577 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
14578 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
14581 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
14582 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
14583 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
14587 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14589 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
14590 a no-op on most backends.
14592 There should be no data returned.
14595 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
14597 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
14600 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
14603 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
14604 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
14607 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
14608 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
14611 active-file = *active-line
14612 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
14614 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
14617 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
14618 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
14619 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
14622 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
14624 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
14625 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
14626 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
14627 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
14628 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
14629 clear if the posting could not be completed.
14631 There should be no result data from this function.
14636 @node Optional Backend Functions
14637 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
14641 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
14643 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
14644 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
14645 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
14647 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
14648 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
14649 former is in the same format as the data from
14650 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
14651 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
14654 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
14658 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
14660 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
14661 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
14662 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
14663 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
14664 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
14665 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
14667 There should be no result data from this function.
14670 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
14672 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
14673 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
14674 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
14675 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
14676 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
14677 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
14678 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
14679 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
14681 There should be no result data from this function.
14684 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
14686 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
14687 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
14688 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
14689 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
14690 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
14692 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
14693 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
14694 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
14697 There should be no result data from this function.
14700 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
14702 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
14703 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
14704 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
14705 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
14706 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
14707 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
14708 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
14710 There should be no result data from this function.
14713 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
14715 The result data from this function should be a description of
14719 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
14721 description = <text>
14724 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
14726 The result data from this function should be the description of all
14727 groups available on the server.
14730 description-buffer = *description-line
14734 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
14736 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
14737 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
14738 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
14741 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
14743 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
14745 There should be no return data.
14748 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
14750 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
14751 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
14752 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
14753 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
14754 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
14757 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
14760 There should be no result data returned.
14763 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
14766 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
14767 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
14769 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
14770 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
14771 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
14772 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
14773 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
14774 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
14776 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
14777 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
14780 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
14781 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
14783 There should be no data returned.
14786 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
14788 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
14789 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
14790 this function in short order.
14792 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
14793 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
14795 There should be no data returned.
14798 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
14800 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
14801 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
14803 There should be no data returned.
14806 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
14808 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
14809 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
14810 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
14812 There should be no data returned.
14815 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
14817 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
14818 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
14820 There should be no data returned.
14825 @node Error Messaging
14826 @subsubsection Error Messaging
14828 @findex nnheader-report
14829 @findex nnheader-get-report
14830 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
14831 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
14832 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
14833 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
14834 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
14835 This function always returns @code{nil}.
14838 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
14840 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
14843 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
14844 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
14845 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
14846 takes one argument---the server symbol.
14848 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
14849 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
14850 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
14853 @node Writing New Backends
14854 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
14856 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
14857 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
14858 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
14859 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
14860 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
14863 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
14864 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
14865 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
14867 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
14868 package called @code{nnoo}.
14870 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
14871 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
14878 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
14879 parameters. For instance:
14882 (nnoo-declare nndir
14886 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
14887 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
14890 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
14891 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
14892 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
14894 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
14895 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
14896 a function in those backends.
14899 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
14900 "Where nndir will look for groups."
14901 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
14904 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
14905 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
14906 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
14908 @item nnoo-define-basics
14909 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
14913 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
14917 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
14918 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
14919 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
14921 @item nnoo-map-functions
14922 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
14923 functions from the parent backends.
14926 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
14927 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
14928 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
14931 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
14932 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
14933 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
14934 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
14937 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
14938 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
14939 haven't already been defined.
14945 nnmh-request-newgroups)
14949 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
14950 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
14951 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
14956 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
14959 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
14960 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
14964 (require 'nnheader)
14968 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
14970 (nnoo-declare nndir
14973 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
14974 "Where nndir will look for groups."
14975 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
14977 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
14978 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
14981 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
14982 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
14983 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
14985 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
14986 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
14988 ;;; Interface functions.
14990 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
14992 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
14993 (setq nndir-directory
14994 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
14996 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
14997 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
14998 (push `(nndir-current-group
14999 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15001 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15002 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15004 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15006 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15007 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15008 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15009 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15010 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15014 nnmh-status-message
15016 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15022 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15023 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15025 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15026 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15027 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15028 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15030 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15031 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15036 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15039 The abilities can be:
15043 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15045 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15047 This backend supports both mail and news.
15049 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15052 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15053 articles and groups.
15055 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15056 true for almost all backends.
15057 @item prompt-address
15058 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15059 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15060 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15065 @node Score File Syntax
15066 @subsection Score File Syntax
15068 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15069 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15070 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15072 Here's a typical score file:
15076 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15083 BNF definition of a score file:
15086 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15087 element = rule / atom
15088 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15089 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15090 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15091 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15093 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15094 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15095 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15096 date-header = "date"
15097 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15098 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15099 score = "nil" / <integer>
15100 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15101 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15102 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15103 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15104 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15105 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15106 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15107 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15108 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15109 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15110 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15111 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15112 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15113 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15114 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15115 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15116 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15117 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15118 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15119 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15120 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15121 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15122 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15123 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15124 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15125 eval = "eval" space <form>
15126 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15129 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15132 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15133 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15134 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15135 one looong line, then that's ok.
15137 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15142 @subsection Headers
15144 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15145 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15146 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15147 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15149 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15150 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15151 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15152 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15153 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15154 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15155 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15157 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15158 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15159 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15160 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15161 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15163 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15170 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15171 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15173 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15174 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15175 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15176 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15178 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15182 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15185 is transformed into
15188 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15191 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15192 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15195 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15198 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15199 is slightly tricky:
15202 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15208 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15211 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15217 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15224 and is equal to the previous range.
15226 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15227 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15228 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15232 range = simple-range / normal-range
15233 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15234 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15235 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15236 number *[ " " contents ]
15239 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15240 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15241 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15242 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15243 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15248 @subsection Group Info
15250 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15251 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15252 describes the group.
15254 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15255 second is a more complex one:
15258 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15260 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15261 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15263 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15266 The first element is the group name as Gnus knows the group; the second
15267 is the group level; the third is the read articles in range format; the
15268 fourth is a list of article marks lists; the fifth is the select method;
15269 and the sixth contains the group parameters.
15271 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15274 info = "(" group space level space read
15275 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15276 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15277 group = quote <string> quote
15278 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15280 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15281 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15282 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15283 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15286 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15287 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15291 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15292 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15296 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15297 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15298 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15300 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15301 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15302 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15303 Gnus, that's very useful.
15305 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15306 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15307 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15308 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15309 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15310 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15311 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15312 following function:
15315 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15319 (,function ,@@args))
15323 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15324 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15325 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15328 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15329 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15330 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15333 @node Various File Formats
15334 @subsection Various File Formats
15337 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15338 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15342 @node Active File Format
15343 @subsubsection Active File Format
15345 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
15346 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
15349 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
15352 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
15353 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
15354 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
15355 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
15356 no.general 1000 900 y
15359 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
15362 active = *group-line
15363 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
15364 group = <non-white-space string>
15366 high-number = <non-negative integer>
15367 low-number = <positive integer>
15368 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
15372 @node Newsgroups File Format
15373 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
15375 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
15376 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
15377 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
15380 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
15381 Here's the definition:
15385 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
15386 group = <non-white-space string>
15388 description = <string>
15392 @node Emacs for Heathens
15393 @section Emacs for Heathens
15395 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
15396 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
15397 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
15398 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
15399 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
15400 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
15401 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
15405 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
15406 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
15411 @subsection Keystrokes
15415 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
15418 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
15421 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
15422 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
15423 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
15424 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
15425 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
15426 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
15428 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
15429 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
15430 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
15431 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
15432 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
15433 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
15434 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
15436 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
15437 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
15438 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
15439 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
15440 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
15441 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
15442 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
15444 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
15445 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
15446 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
15447 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
15448 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
15454 @subsection Emacs Lisp
15456 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
15457 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
15458 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
15459 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
15461 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
15462 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
15463 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
15464 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
15465 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
15466 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
15467 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
15470 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
15471 write the following:
15474 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
15477 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
15478 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
15479 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
15482 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
15483 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
15484 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
15485 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
15486 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
15488 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
15489 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
15490 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
15494 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
15498 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
15501 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
15502 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
15505 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
15508 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
15509 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
15512 @include gnus-faq.texi