10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
15 @setchapternewpage odd
19 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
20 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
21 \usepackage{pagestyle}
24 \input{gnusconfig.tex}
26 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
28 \usepackage[pdftex,bookmarks]{hyperref}
35 \newcommand{\gnusversionname}{Oort Gnus v.}
36 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
37 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
39 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
41 \newcommand{\gnusref}[1]{``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
42 \ifx\pdfoutput\undefined
43 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
45 \newcommand{\gnusuref}[1]{\href{#1}{\gnustt{#1}}}
47 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
48 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
50 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
53 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\gnusselectttfont{}#1}}
54 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
55 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\gnusselectttfont{}#1}''}
56 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
57 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
58 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
59 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
62 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
64 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
65 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
66 \newcommand{\gnusversion}[1]{{\small\textit{#1}}}
67 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
68 \newcommand{\gnusresult}[1]{\gnustt{=> #1}}
70 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
71 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
72 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
73 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
74 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
75 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
76 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
77 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
78 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
79 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
80 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
81 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
82 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
84 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head,height=1cm}}}
85 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
86 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
89 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
91 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
98 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
100 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
102 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
103 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
104 \thispagestyle{empty}
106 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
107 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
108 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
113 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
115 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
122 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
123 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/#1-up,height=1cm}}}
126 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
127 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
130 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
131 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
134 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
135 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
138 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
140 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
141 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
145 \newenvironment{codelist}%
150 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
156 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
161 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
166 \newenvironment{samplist}%
171 \newenvironment{varlist}%
176 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
181 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
182 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
183 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
185 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
190 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
194 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
203 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
205 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
210 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
215 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
219 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
227 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
229 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
239 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
243 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
251 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
253 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=1cm}}
258 \pagenumbering{roman}
259 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
269 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
270 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
272 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
274 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\hfill\gnusversion{\gnusversionname}\\
277 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo,height=15cm}
280 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
287 \thispagestyle{empty}
289 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
290 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
293 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
294 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
295 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
296 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
297 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
298 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
299 License'' in the Emacs manual.
301 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
302 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
303 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
305 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
306 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
307 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
308 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
316 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
318 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
319 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
321 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
322 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
323 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
324 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
325 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
326 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
327 License'' in the Emacs manual.
329 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
330 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
331 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
333 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
334 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
335 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
336 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
344 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
347 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
348 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
349 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
351 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
352 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
353 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
354 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
355 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
356 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
357 License'' in the Emacs manual.
359 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
360 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
361 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
363 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
364 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
365 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
366 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
375 @top The Gnus Newsreader
379 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
380 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
381 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
384 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v.
395 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
396 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
398 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
399 being accused of plagiarism:
401 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
402 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
403 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
404 can even read news with it!
406 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
407 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
408 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
409 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
410 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
416 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
417 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
418 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
419 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
420 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
421 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
422 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
423 * Various:: General purpose settings.
424 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
425 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
426 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
427 * Key Index:: Key Index.
430 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
436 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
437 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
438 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
439 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
440 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
441 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
442 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
443 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
444 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
448 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
449 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
450 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
454 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
455 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
456 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
457 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
458 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
459 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
460 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
461 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
462 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
463 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
464 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
465 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
466 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
467 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
468 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
469 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
470 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
474 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
475 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
476 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
480 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
481 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
482 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
483 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
484 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
488 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
489 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
490 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
491 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
492 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
496 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
497 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
498 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
499 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
500 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
502 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
503 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
504 * Threading:: How threads are made.
505 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
506 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
507 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
508 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
509 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
510 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
511 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
512 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
513 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
514 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
515 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
516 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
517 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
518 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
519 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
520 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
521 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
522 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
523 or reselecting the current group.
524 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
525 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
526 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
527 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
529 Summary Buffer Format
531 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
532 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
533 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
534 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
538 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
539 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
541 Reply, Followup and Post
543 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
544 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
545 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
546 * Canceling and Superseding::
550 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
551 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
552 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
554 * Generic Marking Commands::
555 * Setting Process Marks::
559 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
560 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
561 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
565 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
566 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
568 Customizing Threading
570 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
571 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
572 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
573 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
577 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
578 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
579 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
580 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
581 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
582 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
586 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
587 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
588 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
592 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
593 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
594 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
595 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
596 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
599 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
601 Alternative Approaches
603 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
604 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
606 Various Summary Stuff
608 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
609 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
610 * Summary Generation Commands::
611 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
615 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
616 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
617 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
618 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
619 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
623 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
624 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
625 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
626 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
627 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
628 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
629 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
630 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
634 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
635 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
636 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
637 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
638 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
639 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
640 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
641 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
645 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
646 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
647 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
648 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
649 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
650 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
651 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
655 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
656 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
660 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
661 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
662 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
667 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
668 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
669 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
670 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
671 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
672 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
673 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
674 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
675 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
676 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
677 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
678 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
679 * Archiving Mail:: How to backup your mail.
683 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
684 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
685 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
687 Choosing a Mail Back End
689 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
690 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
691 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
692 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
693 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
694 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
698 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
699 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
700 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
701 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
702 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
703 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
707 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
708 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
709 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
713 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
714 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
715 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
716 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
717 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
721 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
725 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
726 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
727 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
731 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
732 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
736 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
737 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
738 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
739 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
740 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
741 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
742 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
743 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
744 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
745 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
749 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
750 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
751 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
755 * Group Agent Commands::
756 * Summary Agent Commands::
757 * Server Agent Commands::
761 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
762 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
763 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
764 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
765 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
766 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
767 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
768 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
769 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
770 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
771 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
772 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
773 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
774 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
775 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
776 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
777 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
781 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
782 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
783 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
784 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
788 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
789 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
790 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
794 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
795 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
796 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
797 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
798 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
799 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
800 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
801 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
802 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
803 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
804 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
805 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
806 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
807 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
808 * Image Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
809 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
810 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
811 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
815 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
816 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
817 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
818 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
819 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
820 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
821 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
822 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
826 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
827 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
828 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
829 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
833 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
834 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
835 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
836 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
837 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
841 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
842 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
843 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
844 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
845 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
846 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
847 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
851 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
852 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
853 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
854 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
855 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
856 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
857 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
858 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
859 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
863 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
864 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
865 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
866 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
867 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
871 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
872 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
873 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
874 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
878 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
879 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
880 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
881 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
882 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
883 * Group Info:: The group info format.
884 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
885 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
886 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
890 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
891 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
892 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
893 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
894 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
895 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
899 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
900 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
904 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
905 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
911 @chapter Starting Gnus
916 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
917 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
920 @findex gnus-other-frame
921 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
922 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
923 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
925 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
926 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
927 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
929 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
930 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
933 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
934 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
935 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
936 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
937 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
938 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
939 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
940 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
941 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
942 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
943 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
947 @node Finding the News
948 @section Finding the News
951 @vindex gnus-select-method
953 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
954 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
955 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
956 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
959 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
960 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
963 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
966 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
969 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
972 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
973 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
974 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
976 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
978 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
979 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
980 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
981 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
982 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
983 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
985 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
986 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
987 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
988 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
990 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
991 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
992 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
993 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
994 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
995 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
996 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
997 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
998 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1001 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1003 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1004 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1005 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1006 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1007 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1008 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1010 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1012 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1013 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1014 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1015 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1016 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1017 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1020 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1021 you would typically set this variable to
1024 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1028 @node The First Time
1029 @section The First Time
1030 @cindex first time usage
1032 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1033 be subscribed by default.
1035 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1036 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1037 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1038 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1041 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1042 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1043 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1045 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1046 help you with most common problems.
1048 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1049 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1053 @node The Server is Down
1054 @section The Server is Down
1055 @cindex server errors
1057 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1058 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1059 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1061 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1062 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1063 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1064 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1065 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1066 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1067 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1069 @findex gnus-no-server
1070 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1072 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1073 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1074 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1075 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1076 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1077 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1078 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1082 @section Slave Gnusae
1085 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1086 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1087 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1088 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1090 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1091 @code{.newsrc} file.
1093 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1094 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1095 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1096 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1097 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1098 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1099 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1101 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1102 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1103 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1104 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1105 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1106 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1107 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1108 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1110 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1111 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1114 @node Fetching a Group
1115 @section Fetching a Group
1116 @cindex fetching a group
1118 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1119 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1120 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1121 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1122 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1123 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1129 @cindex subscription
1131 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1132 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1133 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1134 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1135 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1136 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1137 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1138 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1139 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1142 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1143 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1144 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1148 @node Checking New Groups
1149 @subsection Checking New Groups
1151 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1152 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1153 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1154 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1155 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1156 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1157 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1158 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1159 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1160 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1162 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1163 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1164 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1165 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1166 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1167 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1168 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1169 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1170 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1171 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1172 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1174 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1175 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1176 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1177 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1178 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1179 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1182 @node Subscription Methods
1183 @subsection Subscription Methods
1185 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1186 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1187 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1189 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1190 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1192 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1196 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1197 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1198 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1199 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1200 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1202 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1203 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1204 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1205 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1207 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1208 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1209 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1211 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1212 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1213 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1214 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1215 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1216 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1217 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1218 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1219 up. Or something like that.
1221 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1222 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1223 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1224 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1225 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1229 Kill all new groups.
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1233 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1234 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1235 topic parameter that looks like
1241 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1244 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1250 A closely related variable is
1251 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1252 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1253 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1254 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1257 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1258 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1259 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1260 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1263 @node Filtering New Groups
1264 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1266 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1267 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1268 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1271 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1274 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1275 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1276 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1277 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1278 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1279 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1280 subscribing these groups.
1281 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1282 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1284 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1285 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1286 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1287 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1288 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1289 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1290 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1291 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1293 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1294 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1295 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1296 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1297 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1298 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1299 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1300 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1301 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1302 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1304 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1305 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1308 @node Changing Servers
1309 @section Changing Servers
1310 @cindex changing servers
1312 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1313 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1314 very flaky and you want to use another.
1316 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1317 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1321 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1322 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1323 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1324 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1327 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1328 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1329 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1330 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1332 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1333 @findex gnus-change-server
1334 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1335 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1336 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1337 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1338 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1340 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1341 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1342 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1343 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1344 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1346 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1347 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1348 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1349 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1350 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1351 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1353 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1354 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1355 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1359 @section Startup Files
1360 @cindex startup files
1365 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1366 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1368 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1369 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1370 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1371 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1372 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1373 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1374 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1376 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1377 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1378 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1379 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1380 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1381 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1383 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1384 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1385 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1386 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1387 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1388 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1389 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1390 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1391 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1392 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1394 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1395 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1396 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1397 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1398 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1399 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1400 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1401 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1402 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1403 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1404 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1405 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1407 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1408 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1409 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1410 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1412 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1413 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1414 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1415 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1416 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1417 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1418 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1419 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1420 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1421 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1424 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1425 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1427 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1428 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1431 @vindex gnus-init-file
1432 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1433 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1434 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1435 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1436 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1437 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1438 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1439 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1440 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1446 @cindex dribble file
1449 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1450 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1451 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1452 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1453 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1456 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1457 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1460 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1461 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1462 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1464 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1465 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1466 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1467 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1468 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1469 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1471 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1472 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1473 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1476 @node The Active File
1477 @section The Active File
1479 @cindex ignored groups
1481 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1482 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1483 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1485 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1486 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1487 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1488 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1489 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1490 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1491 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1494 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1495 @c if you set it to anything else.
1497 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1499 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1500 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1501 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1503 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1504 you actually subscribe to.
1506 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1507 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1508 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1509 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1511 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1512 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1513 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1514 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1515 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1516 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1518 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1519 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1520 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1523 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1524 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1525 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1526 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1527 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1528 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1530 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1531 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1533 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1534 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1536 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1537 secondary select methods.
1540 @node Startup Variables
1541 @section Startup Variables
1545 @item gnus-load-hook
1546 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1547 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1548 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1549 times you start Gnus.
1551 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1552 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1553 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1555 @item gnus-startup-hook
1556 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1557 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1559 @item gnus-started-hook
1560 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1561 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1564 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1565 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1566 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1567 generating the group buffer.
1569 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1570 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1571 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1572 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1573 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1574 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1575 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1576 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1578 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1579 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1580 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1581 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1582 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1583 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1585 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1586 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1587 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1589 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1590 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1591 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1593 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1594 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1595 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1596 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1602 @chapter Group Buffer
1603 @cindex group buffer
1605 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1607 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1608 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1609 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1610 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1611 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1612 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1613 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1614 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1615 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1616 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1617 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1618 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1619 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1620 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1621 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1622 @c human rights at 9...
1625 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1626 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1627 long as Gnus is active.
1631 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1632 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1633 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1634 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1635 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1636 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1637 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1638 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1644 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1645 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1646 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1647 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1648 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1649 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1650 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1651 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1652 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1653 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1654 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1655 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1656 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1657 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1658 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1659 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1660 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1664 @node Group Buffer Format
1665 @section Group Buffer Format
1668 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1669 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1670 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1674 @node Group Line Specification
1675 @subsection Group Line Specification
1676 @cindex group buffer format
1678 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1679 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1681 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1684 25: news.announce.newusers
1685 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1690 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1691 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1692 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1693 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1695 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1696 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1697 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1698 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1699 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1700 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1702 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1704 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1705 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1706 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1707 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1708 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1710 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1711 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1712 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1714 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1719 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1722 Whether the group is subscribed.
1725 Level of subscribedness.
1728 Number of unread articles.
1731 Number of dormant articles.
1734 Number of ticked articles.
1737 Number of read articles.
1740 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1741 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1743 Gnus uses this estimation because the NNTP protocol provides efficient
1744 access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting the true
1745 unread message count is not possible efficiently. For hysterical
1746 raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of unread
1747 messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1748 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the
1749 back end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1750 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1753 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1756 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1765 Newsgroup description.
1768 @samp{m} if moderated.
1771 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1780 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1784 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1787 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1788 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1789 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1790 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1791 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1794 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1796 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1800 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1803 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1807 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1808 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1809 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1810 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1811 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1812 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1817 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1818 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1819 group, or a bogus native group.
1822 @node Group Modeline Specification
1823 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1824 @cindex group modeline
1826 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1827 The mode line can be changed by setting
1828 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1829 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1833 The native news server.
1835 The native select method.
1839 @node Group Highlighting
1840 @subsection Group Highlighting
1841 @cindex highlighting
1842 @cindex group highlighting
1844 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1845 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1846 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1847 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1848 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1850 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1854 (cond (window-system
1855 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1856 (defface my-group-face-1
1857 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1858 (defface my-group-face-2
1859 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1860 (defface my-group-face-3
1861 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1862 (defface my-group-face-4
1863 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1864 (defface my-group-face-5
1865 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1867 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1868 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1869 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1870 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1871 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1872 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1875 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1877 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1884 The number of unread articles in the group.
1888 Whether the group is a mail group.
1890 The level of the group.
1892 The score of the group.
1894 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1896 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1897 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1899 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1900 topic being inserted.
1903 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1904 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1905 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1907 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1908 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1909 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1910 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1911 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1914 @node Group Maneuvering
1915 @section Group Maneuvering
1916 @cindex group movement
1918 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1919 expected, hopefully.
1925 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1926 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1927 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1933 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1934 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1935 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1939 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1940 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1944 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1945 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1949 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1950 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1951 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1955 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1956 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1957 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1960 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1966 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1967 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1968 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1973 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1974 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1975 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1980 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1981 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1984 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1985 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1986 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1987 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1991 @node Selecting a Group
1992 @section Selecting a Group
1993 @cindex group selection
1998 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1999 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2000 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2001 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2002 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2003 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2004 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2005 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2006 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2007 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2009 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2010 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2011 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2013 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2014 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2019 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2020 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2021 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2022 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2023 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2027 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2028 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2029 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2030 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2031 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2032 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2033 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2034 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2035 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2036 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2039 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2040 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2041 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2042 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2043 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2046 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2047 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2048 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2049 doing any processing of its contents
2050 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2051 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2052 manner will have no permanent effects.
2056 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2057 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2058 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2059 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2060 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2061 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2062 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2063 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2066 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2067 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2068 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2069 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2070 Which article this is is controlled by the
2071 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2077 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2080 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2083 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2086 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2090 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2091 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2093 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2094 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2095 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2096 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2100 @node Subscription Commands
2101 @section Subscription Commands
2102 @cindex subscription
2110 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2111 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2112 Toggle subscription to the current group
2113 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2119 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2120 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2121 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2122 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2128 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2129 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2130 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2136 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2137 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2140 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2141 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2142 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2143 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2144 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2150 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2151 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2155 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2156 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2159 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2160 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2161 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2162 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2163 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2164 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2165 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2166 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2167 @file{.newsrc} file.
2171 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2181 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2182 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2183 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2184 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2185 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2186 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2191 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2192 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2193 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2197 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2198 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2199 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2201 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2202 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2203 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2204 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2205 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2206 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2213 @section Group Levels
2217 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2218 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2219 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2220 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2221 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2223 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2229 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2230 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2231 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2232 prompted for a level.
2235 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2236 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2237 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2238 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2239 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2240 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2241 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2242 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2243 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2244 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2245 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2246 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2247 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2248 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2249 reasons of efficiency.
2251 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2252 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2254 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2255 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2256 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2257 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2258 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2259 groups are hidden, in a way.
2261 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2262 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2263 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2264 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2265 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2266 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2268 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2269 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2270 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2271 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2272 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2273 list of killed groups.)
2275 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2276 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2277 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2279 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2280 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2281 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2282 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2283 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2284 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2285 relevant valid ranges.
2287 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2288 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2289 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2290 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2291 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2292 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2295 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2296 one with the best level.
2298 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2299 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2300 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2303 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2304 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2305 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2306 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2309 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2310 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2311 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2312 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2314 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2315 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2316 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2317 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2318 to 5. The default is 6.
2322 @section Group Score
2327 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2328 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2329 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2332 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2333 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2334 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2335 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2336 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2337 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2338 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2339 least significant part.))
2341 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2342 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2343 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2344 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2345 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2346 action after each summary exit, you can add
2347 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2348 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2349 slow things down somewhat.
2352 @node Marking Groups
2353 @section Marking Groups
2354 @cindex marking groups
2356 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2357 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2358 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2359 bidding on those groups.
2361 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2362 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2363 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2371 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2372 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2378 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2379 Remove the mark from the current group
2380 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2384 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2385 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2389 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2390 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2394 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2395 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2399 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2400 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2401 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2404 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2406 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2407 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2408 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2409 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2410 the command to be executed.
2413 @node Foreign Groups
2414 @section Foreign Groups
2415 @cindex foreign groups
2417 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2418 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2419 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2420 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2427 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2428 @cindex making groups
2429 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2430 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2431 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2435 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2436 @cindex renaming groups
2437 Rename the current group to something else
2438 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2439 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2445 @findex gnus-group-customize
2446 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2450 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2451 @cindex renaming groups
2452 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2453 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2457 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2458 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2459 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2463 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2464 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2465 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2469 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2471 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2472 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2477 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2478 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2482 @cindex (ding) archive
2483 @cindex archive group
2484 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2485 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2486 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2487 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2488 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2489 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2490 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2494 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2496 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2497 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2498 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2499 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2503 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2505 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2506 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2507 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2511 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2512 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2514 Make a group based on some file or other
2515 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2516 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2517 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2518 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2519 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2520 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2521 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2522 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2523 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2527 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2528 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2529 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2530 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2534 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2539 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2540 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2541 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2542 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2543 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2544 @xref{Web Searches}.
2546 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2547 to a particular group by using a match string like
2548 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2551 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2552 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2553 This function will delete the current group
2554 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2555 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2556 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2557 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2558 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2562 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2563 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2564 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2568 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2569 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2570 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2573 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2576 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2577 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2578 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2579 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2580 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2581 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2585 @node Group Parameters
2586 @section Group Parameters
2587 @cindex group parameters
2589 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2590 Here's an example group parameter list:
2593 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2597 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2598 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2599 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2600 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2602 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2603 is an alist of regexps and values.
2605 The following group parameters can be used:
2610 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2613 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2616 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2617 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2618 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2619 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2620 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2622 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2623 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2624 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2625 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2626 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2627 list address instead.
2629 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2633 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2636 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2639 It is totally ignored
2640 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2641 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2643 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2644 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2645 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2646 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2647 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2649 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2650 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2651 sending the message.
2653 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2654 @cindex Mail List Groups
2655 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2656 entering summary buffer.
2658 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2662 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2663 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2664 of whether it has any unread articles.
2666 @item broken-reply-to
2667 @cindex broken-reply-to
2668 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2669 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2670 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2671 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2672 broken behavior. So there!
2676 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2677 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2681 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2682 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2683 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2688 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2689 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2690 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2691 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2692 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2693 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2694 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2698 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2699 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2700 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2702 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2705 @cindex total-expire
2706 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2707 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2708 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2709 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2712 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2716 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2717 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2718 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2719 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2720 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2721 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2724 @cindex score file group parameter
2725 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2726 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2727 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2730 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2731 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2732 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2733 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2736 @cindex admin-address
2737 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2738 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2739 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2740 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2744 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2745 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2749 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2752 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2753 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2756 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2760 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2762 Here are some examples:
2766 Display only read articles.
2769 Display everything except expirable articles.
2771 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2772 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2776 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2777 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2778 @code{read}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2779 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2780 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{seen} and @code{recent}.
2784 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2785 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2786 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2790 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2791 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2792 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2797 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2798 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2799 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2801 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2803 @item ignored-charsets
2804 @cindex ignored-charset
2805 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2806 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2807 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2809 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2812 @cindex posting-style
2813 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2814 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2815 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2816 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2817 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2819 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2820 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2821 like this in the group parameters:
2826 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2831 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2832 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2836 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2837 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2838 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2839 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2840 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2844 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2845 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2846 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2847 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2849 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2850 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2851 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2852 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2855 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2856 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2860 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2863 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2864 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2865 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2866 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2867 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2868 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2869 @code{eval}ed there.
2871 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2872 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2873 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2874 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2875 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2879 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2880 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2881 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2882 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2883 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2885 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2886 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2890 (setq gnus-parameters
2892 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2893 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2894 (gnus-summary-line-format
2895 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2899 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2903 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2907 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2910 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2911 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2914 @node Listing Groups
2915 @section Listing Groups
2916 @cindex group listing
2918 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2926 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2927 List all groups that have unread articles
2928 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2929 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2930 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2931 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2938 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2939 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2940 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2941 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2942 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2943 unsubscribed groups).
2947 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2948 List all unread groups on a specific level
2949 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2950 with no unread articles.
2954 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2955 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2956 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2957 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2962 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2963 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2967 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2968 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2969 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2973 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2974 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2978 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2979 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2980 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2981 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2982 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2983 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2984 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2985 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2989 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2990 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2991 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2995 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2996 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2997 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3001 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3002 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3006 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3007 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3011 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3012 List groups limited within the current selection
3013 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3017 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3018 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3022 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3023 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3027 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3028 @cindex visible group parameter
3029 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3030 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3031 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3032 get the same effect.
3034 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3035 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3036 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3037 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3038 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3041 @node Sorting Groups
3042 @section Sorting Groups
3043 @cindex sorting groups
3045 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3046 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3047 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3048 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3049 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3050 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3055 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3056 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3057 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3059 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3060 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3061 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3063 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3064 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3065 Sort by group level.
3067 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3068 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3069 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3071 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3072 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3073 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3074 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3076 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3077 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3078 Sort by number of unread articles.
3080 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3081 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3082 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3084 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3085 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3086 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3091 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3092 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3096 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3097 some sorting criteria:
3101 @kindex G S a (Group)
3102 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3103 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3104 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3107 @kindex G S u (Group)
3108 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3109 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3110 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3113 @kindex G S l (Group)
3114 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3115 Sort the group buffer by group level
3116 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3119 @kindex G S v (Group)
3120 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3121 Sort the group buffer by group score
3122 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3125 @kindex G S r (Group)
3126 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3127 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3128 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3131 @kindex G S m (Group)
3132 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3133 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3134 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3138 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3139 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3141 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3142 commands will sort in reverse order.
3144 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3148 @kindex G P a (Group)
3149 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3150 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3151 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3154 @kindex G P u (Group)
3155 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3156 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3157 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3160 @kindex G P l (Group)
3161 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3162 Sort the groups by group level
3163 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3166 @kindex G P v (Group)
3167 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3168 Sort the groups by group score
3169 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3172 @kindex G P r (Group)
3173 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3174 Sort the groups by group rank
3175 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3178 @kindex G P m (Group)
3179 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3180 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3181 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3185 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3189 @node Group Maintenance
3190 @section Group Maintenance
3191 @cindex bogus groups
3196 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3197 Find bogus groups and delete them
3198 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3202 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3203 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3204 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3205 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3206 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3210 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3211 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3212 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3213 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3214 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3215 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3218 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3219 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3220 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3221 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3226 @node Browse Foreign Server
3227 @section Browse Foreign Server
3228 @cindex foreign servers
3229 @cindex browsing servers
3234 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3235 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3236 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3237 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3240 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3241 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3242 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3243 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3245 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3250 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3251 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3255 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3256 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3259 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3260 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3261 Enter the current group and display the first article
3262 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3265 @kindex RET (Browse)
3266 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3267 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3271 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3272 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3273 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3279 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3280 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3284 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3285 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3286 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3291 @section Exiting Gnus
3292 @cindex exiting Gnus
3294 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3299 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3300 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3301 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3302 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3306 @findex gnus-group-exit
3307 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3308 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3312 @findex gnus-group-quit
3313 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3314 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3317 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3318 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3319 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3320 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3321 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3326 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3327 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3328 trying to customize meta-variables.
3333 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3334 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3335 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3341 @section Group Topics
3344 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3345 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3346 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3347 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3348 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3349 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3353 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3354 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3365 2: alt.religion.emacs
3368 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3370 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3371 13: comp.sources.unix
3374 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3376 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3377 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3378 is a toggling command.)
3380 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3381 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3382 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3383 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3386 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3387 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3388 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3391 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3395 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3396 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3397 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3398 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3399 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3403 @node Topic Commands
3404 @subsection Topic Commands
3405 @cindex topic commands
3407 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3408 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3409 definitions slightly.
3411 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3412 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3413 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3414 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3415 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3416 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3418 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3425 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3426 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3427 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3431 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3433 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3434 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3435 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3436 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3439 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3440 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3441 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3442 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3446 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3447 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3448 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3449 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3455 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3456 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3457 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3461 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3462 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3463 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3466 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3467 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3468 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3469 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3470 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3472 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3473 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3477 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3478 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3485 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3487 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3488 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3489 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3490 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3491 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3492 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3496 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3502 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3503 Move the current group to some other topic
3504 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3505 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3509 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3510 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3514 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3515 Copy the current group to some other topic
3516 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3517 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3521 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3522 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3523 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3527 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3528 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3529 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3533 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3534 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3535 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3536 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3537 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3538 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3539 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3542 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3543 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3547 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3548 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3549 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3553 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3554 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3555 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3559 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3560 Toggle hiding empty topics
3561 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3565 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3566 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3567 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3570 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3571 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3572 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3573 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3576 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3577 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3578 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3579 expiry process (if any)
3580 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3584 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3585 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3588 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3589 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3590 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3594 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3595 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3596 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3599 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3600 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3601 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3604 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3605 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3606 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3610 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3611 @cindex group parameters
3612 @cindex topic parameters
3614 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3615 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3620 @node Topic Variables
3621 @subsection Topic Variables
3622 @cindex topic variables
3624 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3625 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3627 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3628 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3629 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3642 Number of groups in the topic.
3644 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3646 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3649 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3650 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3651 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3654 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3655 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3657 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3658 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3659 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3663 @subsection Topic Sorting
3664 @cindex topic sorting
3666 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3672 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3673 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3674 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3675 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3678 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3679 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3680 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3681 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3684 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3685 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3686 Sort the current topic by group level
3687 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3690 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3691 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3692 Sort the current topic by group score
3693 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3696 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3697 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3698 Sort the current topic by group rank
3699 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3702 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3703 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3704 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3705 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3708 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3709 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3710 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3711 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3715 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3718 @node Topic Topology
3719 @subsection Topic Topology
3720 @cindex topic topology
3723 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3729 2: alt.religion.emacs
3732 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3734 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3735 13: comp.sources.unix
3738 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3739 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3740 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3745 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3746 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3750 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3751 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3752 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3753 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3754 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3755 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3757 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3758 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3759 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3762 @node Topic Parameters
3763 @subsection Topic Parameters
3764 @cindex topic parameters
3766 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3767 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3768 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3770 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3775 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3776 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3777 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3780 @item subscribe-level
3781 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3782 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3783 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3787 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3788 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3789 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3790 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3796 2: alt.religion.emacs
3800 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3802 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3803 13: comp.sources.unix
3807 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3808 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3809 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3810 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3811 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3812 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3814 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3815 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3816 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3817 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3818 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3820 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3821 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3822 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3823 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3824 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3825 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3826 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3827 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3830 @node Misc Group Stuff
3831 @section Misc Group Stuff
3834 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3835 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3836 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3837 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3838 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3845 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3846 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3847 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3851 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3852 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3853 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3854 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3855 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3856 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3857 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3861 @findex gnus-group-mail
3862 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3863 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3864 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3865 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3869 @findex gnus-group-news
3870 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3871 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3872 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3874 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3875 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3876 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3877 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3878 for this to work though.
3882 Variables for the group buffer:
3886 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3887 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3888 is called after the group buffer has been
3891 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3892 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3893 is called after the group buffer is
3894 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3897 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3898 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3899 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3900 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3902 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3903 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3904 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3905 whether they are empty or not.
3907 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3908 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3909 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3910 non-ASCII group names.
3914 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3915 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3918 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3919 @cindex UTF-8 group names
3920 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3921 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
3922 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
3923 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
3927 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3928 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3933 @node Scanning New Messages
3934 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3935 @cindex new messages
3936 @cindex scanning new news
3942 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3943 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3944 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3945 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3946 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3947 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3952 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3953 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3954 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3955 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3956 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3957 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3958 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3960 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3961 @cindex activating groups
3963 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3964 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3969 @findex gnus-group-restart
3970 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3971 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3972 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3976 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3977 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3979 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3980 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3984 @node Group Information
3985 @subsection Group Information
3986 @cindex group information
3987 @cindex information on groups
3994 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3995 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3998 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3999 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4000 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4001 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4002 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4003 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4004 for fetching the file.
4006 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4007 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4011 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4013 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4014 @cindex describing groups
4015 @cindex group description
4016 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4017 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4018 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4022 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4023 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4024 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4031 @findex gnus-version
4032 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4036 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4037 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4040 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4043 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4044 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4048 @node Group Timestamp
4049 @subsection Group Timestamp
4051 @cindex group timestamps
4053 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4054 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4055 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4058 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4061 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4063 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4064 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4067 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4068 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4071 This will result in lines looking like:
4074 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4075 0: custom 19961002T012713
4078 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4079 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4083 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4084 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4089 @subsection File Commands
4090 @cindex file commands
4096 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4097 @vindex gnus-init-file
4098 @cindex reading init file
4099 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4100 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4104 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4105 @cindex saving .newsrc
4106 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4107 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4108 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4111 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4112 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4113 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4118 @node Sieve Commands
4119 @subsection Sieve Commands
4120 @cindex group sieve commands
4122 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4123 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4124 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4125 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4126 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4128 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4129 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4130 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4131 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4132 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4133 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4134 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4135 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4136 regenerate the Sieve script.
4138 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4139 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4140 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4141 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4142 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4143 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4144 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4145 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4146 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4147 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4150 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4151 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4156 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4162 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4163 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4164 @cindex generating sieve script
4165 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4166 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4170 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4171 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4172 @cindex updating sieve script
4173 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4174 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4175 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4180 @node Summary Buffer
4181 @chapter Summary Buffer
4182 @cindex summary buffer
4184 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4185 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4187 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4188 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4190 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4193 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4194 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4195 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4196 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4197 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4198 * Delayed Articles::
4199 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4200 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4201 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4202 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4203 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4204 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4205 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4206 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4207 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4208 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4209 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4210 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4211 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4212 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4213 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4214 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4215 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4216 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4217 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4218 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4219 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4220 or reselecting the current group.
4221 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4222 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4223 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4224 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4228 @node Summary Buffer Format
4229 @section Summary Buffer Format
4230 @cindex summary buffer format
4234 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4235 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4236 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4242 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4243 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4244 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4245 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4248 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4249 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4250 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4251 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4252 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4253 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4254 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4255 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4256 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4257 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4258 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4261 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4262 'mail-extract-address-components)
4265 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4266 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4267 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4268 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4271 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4272 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4274 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4275 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4276 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4277 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4278 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4280 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4281 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4282 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4283 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4284 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4285 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4287 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%) %s\n}.
4289 The following format specification characters and extended format
4290 specification(s) are understood:
4296 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4297 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4299 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4300 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4301 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4303 Full @code{From} header.
4305 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4307 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
4308 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
4310 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4311 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4312 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4313 may be more thorough.
4315 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4318 Number of lines in the article.
4320 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4321 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4323 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4325 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4328 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4329 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4331 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4332 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4334 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4335 for adopted articles.
4337 One space for each thread level.
4339 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4341 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4344 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4345 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4346 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4349 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4351 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4352 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4353 default level. If the difference between
4354 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4355 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4363 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4365 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4371 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4372 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4374 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4375 article has any children.
4381 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4382 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4384 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4385 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4386 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4387 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4388 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4389 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4392 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4393 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4394 There can only be one such area.
4396 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4397 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4398 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4399 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4400 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4401 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4403 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4404 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4406 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4409 @node To From Newsgroups
4410 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4414 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4415 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4416 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4417 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4418 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4422 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4423 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4424 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4428 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4429 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4432 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4433 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4436 @findex gnus-extra-header
4437 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4438 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4439 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4442 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4446 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4447 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4448 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4449 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4450 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4451 headers are used instead.
4455 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4456 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4457 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4458 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4461 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4462 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4463 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4464 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4466 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4470 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4472 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4473 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4474 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4475 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4479 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4482 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4483 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4490 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4491 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4494 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4495 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4497 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4498 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4499 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4500 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4502 Here are the elements you can play with:
4508 Unprefixed group name.
4510 Current article number.
4512 Current article score.
4516 Number of unread articles in this group.
4518 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4521 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4522 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4523 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4524 and no unselected ones.
4526 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4527 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4529 Subject of the current article.
4531 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4533 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4535 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4537 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4539 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4541 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4545 @node Summary Highlighting
4546 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4550 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4551 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4552 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4553 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4554 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4556 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4557 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4558 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4559 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4561 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4562 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4563 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4564 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4566 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4567 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4568 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4569 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4570 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4571 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4574 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4575 ((> score default) . bold))
4577 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4578 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4582 @node Summary Maneuvering
4583 @section Summary Maneuvering
4584 @cindex summary movement
4586 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4587 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4589 None of these commands select articles.
4594 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4595 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4596 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4597 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4598 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4602 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4603 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4604 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4605 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4606 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4609 @kindex G g (Summary)
4610 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4611 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4612 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4615 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4616 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4617 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4618 to the group buffer.
4620 Variables related to summary movement:
4624 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4625 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4626 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4627 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4628 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4629 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4630 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4631 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4632 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4633 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4634 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4635 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4636 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4637 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4639 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4640 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4641 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4642 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4643 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4644 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4645 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4647 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4649 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4650 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4651 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4652 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4653 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4655 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4656 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4657 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4658 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4659 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4660 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4661 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4662 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4665 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4666 the given number of lines from the top.
4671 @node Choosing Articles
4672 @section Choosing Articles
4673 @cindex selecting articles
4676 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4677 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4681 @node Choosing Commands
4682 @subsection Choosing Commands
4684 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4685 and they all select and display an article.
4687 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4688 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4692 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4693 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4694 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4695 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4700 @kindex G n (Summary)
4701 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4702 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4703 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4708 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4709 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4710 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4715 @kindex G N (Summary)
4716 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4717 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4722 @kindex G P (Summary)
4723 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4724 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4727 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4728 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4729 Go to the next article with the same subject
4730 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4733 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4734 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4735 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4736 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4740 @kindex G f (Summary)
4742 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4743 Go to the first unread article
4744 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4748 @kindex G b (Summary)
4750 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4751 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4752 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4753 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4758 @kindex G l (Summary)
4759 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4760 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4763 @kindex G o (Summary)
4764 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4766 @cindex article history
4767 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4768 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4769 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4770 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4771 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4772 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4777 @kindex G j (Summary)
4778 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4779 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4780 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4785 @node Choosing Variables
4786 @subsection Choosing Variables
4788 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4791 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4792 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4793 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4794 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4795 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4796 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4798 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4799 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4800 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4801 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4803 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4804 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4805 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4806 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4807 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4808 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4809 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4810 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4811 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4812 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4813 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4814 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4815 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4816 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4821 @node Paging the Article
4822 @section Scrolling the Article
4823 @cindex article scrolling
4828 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4829 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4830 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4831 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4832 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4835 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4836 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4837 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4840 @kindex RET (Summary)
4841 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4842 Scroll the current article one line forward
4843 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4846 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4847 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4848 Scroll the current article one line backward
4849 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4853 @kindex A g (Summary)
4855 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4856 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4857 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4858 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4859 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4860 the way it came from the server.
4862 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4863 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4864 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4867 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4872 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4877 @kindex A < (Summary)
4878 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4879 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4880 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4885 @kindex A > (Summary)
4886 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4887 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4891 @kindex A s (Summary)
4893 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4894 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4895 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4899 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4900 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4905 @node Reply Followup and Post
4906 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4909 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4910 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4911 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4912 * Canceling and Superseding::
4916 @node Summary Mail Commands
4917 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4919 @cindex composing mail
4921 Commands for composing a mail message:
4927 @kindex S r (Summary)
4929 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4930 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4931 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4932 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4933 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4938 @kindex S R (Summary)
4939 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4940 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4941 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4942 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4943 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4946 @kindex S w (Summary)
4947 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4948 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4949 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4950 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4951 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4954 @kindex S W (Summary)
4955 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4956 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4957 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4958 the process/prefix convention.
4961 @kindex S v (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
4963 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
4964 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
4965 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4966 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
4967 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
4971 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4972 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4973 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4974 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4975 Forward the current article to some other person
4976 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4977 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4978 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4979 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
4980 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4981 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
4982 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4983 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4984 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4989 @kindex S m (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4991 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4992 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
4993 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
4994 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4999 @kindex S i (Summary)
5000 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5001 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5002 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5003 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5005 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5006 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5007 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5008 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5009 for this to work though.
5012 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5014 @cindex bouncing mail
5015 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5016 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5017 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5018 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5019 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5020 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5021 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5022 very well fail, though.
5025 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5026 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5027 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5028 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5029 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5030 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5031 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5032 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5033 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5034 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5036 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5037 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5038 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5039 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5040 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
5042 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5043 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5046 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5047 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5048 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5049 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5050 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5053 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5054 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5055 @cindex crossposting
5056 @cindex excessive crossposting
5057 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5058 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5060 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5061 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5062 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5063 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5064 command understands the process/prefix convention
5065 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5069 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5070 Manual}, for more information.
5073 @node Summary Post Commands
5074 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5076 @cindex composing news
5078 Commands for posting a news article:
5084 @kindex S p (Summary)
5085 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5086 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5087 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5088 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5089 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5094 @kindex S f (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5096 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5097 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5101 @kindex S F (Summary)
5103 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5104 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5105 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5106 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5107 process/prefix convention.
5110 @kindex S n (Summary)
5111 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5112 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5113 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5116 @kindex S N (Summary)
5117 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5118 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5119 message through mail and include the original message
5120 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5121 the process/prefix convention.
5124 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5125 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5126 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5127 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5128 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5129 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5130 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5131 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5132 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5133 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5134 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5135 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5136 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
5139 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5140 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5142 @cindex making digests
5143 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5144 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5145 process/prefix convention.
5148 @kindex S u (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5150 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5151 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5152 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5155 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5156 Manual}, for more information.
5159 @node Summary Message Commands
5160 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5164 @kindex S y (Summary)
5165 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5166 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5167 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5168 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5169 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5174 @node Canceling and Superseding
5175 @subsection Canceling Articles
5176 @cindex canceling articles
5177 @cindex superseding articles
5179 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5180 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5182 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5184 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5186 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5187 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5188 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5189 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5190 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5191 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5193 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5194 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5197 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5198 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5199 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5201 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5202 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5203 your original article.
5205 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5207 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5208 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5209 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5212 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5213 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5214 have posted almost the same article twice.
5216 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5217 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5218 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5219 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5220 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5221 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5222 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5223 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5224 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5225 canceled/superseded.
5227 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5229 @node Delayed Articles
5230 @section Delayed Articles
5231 @cindex delayed sending
5232 @cindex send delayed
5234 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5235 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5236 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5237 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5240 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5243 @findex gnus-delay-article
5244 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5245 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5246 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5247 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5251 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5252 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5253 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5254 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5257 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5258 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5259 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5262 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5263 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5264 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5265 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5266 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5267 that means a time tomorrow.
5270 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5271 couple of variables:
5274 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5275 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5276 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5277 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5279 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5280 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5281 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5282 formats described above.
5284 @item gnus-delay-group
5285 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5286 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5287 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5288 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5290 @item gnus-delay-header
5291 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5292 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5293 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5294 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5297 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5298 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5299 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5300 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5301 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5303 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5304 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5305 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5306 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5307 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5308 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5311 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5312 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5313 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5314 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5315 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5316 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5317 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5318 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5320 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5321 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5322 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5323 forget to set that up :-)
5327 @node Marking Articles
5328 @section Marking Articles
5329 @cindex article marking
5330 @cindex article ticking
5333 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5335 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5336 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5337 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5339 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5342 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5343 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5344 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5348 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5352 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5353 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5354 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5358 @node Unread Articles
5359 @subsection Unread Articles
5361 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5366 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5367 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5369 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5370 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5371 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5372 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5373 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5374 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5375 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5378 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5379 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5381 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5382 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5383 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5384 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5388 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5389 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5391 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5396 @subsection Read Articles
5397 @cindex expirable mark
5399 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5404 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5405 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5406 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5409 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5410 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5413 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5414 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5415 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5418 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5419 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5422 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5423 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5426 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5427 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5430 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5431 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5434 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5435 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5438 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5439 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5442 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5443 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5447 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5448 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5449 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5453 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5454 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5456 One more special mark, though:
5460 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5461 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5463 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5464 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5465 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5466 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5472 @subsection Other Marks
5473 @cindex process mark
5476 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5482 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5483 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5484 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5485 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5486 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5489 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5490 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5491 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5492 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5494 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5495 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5496 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5498 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5499 Articles that are ``recently'' arrived in the group will be marked
5500 with an @samp{N} in the second column (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Most
5501 back end doesn't support the mark, in which case it's not shown.
5504 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5505 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5506 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5509 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5510 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5511 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5512 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5515 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5516 Articles that according to the back end haven't been seen by the user
5517 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5518 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all back ends support this
5519 mark, in which case it simply never appear.
5522 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5523 Articles that haven't been seen by the user before are marked with a
5524 @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5527 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5528 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5529 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5530 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5531 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5534 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5535 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5536 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5537 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5538 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5539 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5543 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5544 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5545 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5547 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5548 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5549 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5553 @subsection Setting Marks
5554 @cindex setting marks
5556 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5561 @kindex M c (Summary)
5562 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5563 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5564 @cindex mark as unread
5565 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5566 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5572 @kindex M t (Summary)
5573 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5574 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5575 @xref{Article Caching}.
5580 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5581 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5582 Mark the current article as dormant
5583 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5587 @kindex M d (Summary)
5589 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5590 Mark the current article as read
5591 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5595 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5596 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5597 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5602 @kindex M k (Summary)
5603 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5604 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5605 and then select the next unread article
5606 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5610 @kindex M K (Summary)
5611 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5612 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5613 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5614 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5617 @kindex M C (Summary)
5618 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5619 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5620 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5623 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5624 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5625 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5626 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5629 @kindex M H (Summary)
5630 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5631 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5632 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5635 @kindex M h (Summary)
5636 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5637 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5638 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5641 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5642 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5643 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5644 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5647 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5648 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5649 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5650 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5654 @kindex M e (Summary)
5656 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5657 Mark the current article as expirable
5658 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5661 @kindex M b (Summary)
5662 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5663 Set a bookmark in the current article
5664 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5667 @kindex M B (Summary)
5668 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5669 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5670 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5673 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5674 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5675 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5676 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5679 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5681 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5682 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5685 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5686 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5687 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5688 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5689 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5692 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5693 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5694 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5695 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5696 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5697 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5698 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5699 The default is @code{t}.
5702 @node Generic Marking Commands
5703 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5705 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5706 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5707 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5708 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5709 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5712 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5713 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5716 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5717 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5718 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5719 to list in this manual.
5721 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5722 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5723 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5724 article, you could say something like:
5727 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5728 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5729 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5735 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5736 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5740 @node Setting Process Marks
5741 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5742 @cindex setting process marks
5749 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5750 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5751 Mark the current article with the process mark
5752 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5753 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5757 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5758 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5759 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5760 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5763 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5764 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5765 Remove the process mark from all articles
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5769 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5771 Invert the list of process marked articles
5772 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5775 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5777 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5778 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5781 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5783 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5784 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5787 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5788 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5789 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5792 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5794 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5795 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5798 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5800 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5801 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5804 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5806 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5807 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5810 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5812 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5815 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5817 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5818 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5821 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5823 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5826 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5828 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5829 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5832 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5833 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5834 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5835 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5838 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5839 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5840 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5841 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5844 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5845 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5846 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5847 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5851 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5852 set process marks based on article body contents.
5859 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5860 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5861 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5864 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5865 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5866 additional articles.
5872 @kindex / / (Summary)
5873 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5874 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5875 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
5879 @kindex / a (Summary)
5880 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5881 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5882 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
5886 @kindex / x (Summary)
5887 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5888 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5889 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5890 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
5895 @kindex / u (Summary)
5897 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5898 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5899 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5900 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5901 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5904 @kindex / m (Summary)
5905 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5906 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5907 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5910 @kindex / t (Summary)
5911 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5912 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5913 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5914 articles younger than that number of days.
5917 @kindex / n (Summary)
5918 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5919 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5920 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5921 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5924 @kindex / w (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5926 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5927 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5931 @kindex / v (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5933 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5934 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5937 @kindex / p (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter
5939 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
5940 group parameter predicate
5941 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-parameter}). See @pxref{Group
5942 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
5946 @kindex M S (Summary)
5947 @kindex / E (Summary)
5948 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5949 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5950 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5953 @kindex / D (Summary)
5954 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5955 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5956 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5959 @kindex / * (Summary)
5960 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5961 Include all cached articles in the limit
5962 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5965 @kindex / d (Summary)
5966 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5967 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5968 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5971 @kindex / M (Summary)
5972 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5973 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5976 @kindex / T (Summary)
5977 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5978 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5981 @kindex / c (Summary)
5982 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5983 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5984 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5987 @kindex / C (Summary)
5988 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5989 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5990 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5991 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5994 @kindex / N (Summary)
5995 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
5996 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
5997 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6000 @kindex / o (Summary)
6001 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6002 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6003 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6011 @cindex article threading
6013 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6014 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6015 hierarchical fashion.
6017 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6018 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6019 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6020 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6021 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6022 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6023 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6025 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6029 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6032 A tree-like article structure.
6035 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6038 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6039 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6040 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6041 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6042 called loose threads.
6044 @item thread gathering
6045 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6047 @item sparse threads
6048 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6049 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6055 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6056 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6060 @node Customizing Threading
6061 @subsection Customizing Threading
6062 @cindex customizing threading
6065 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6066 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6067 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6068 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6073 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6076 @cindex loose threads
6079 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6080 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6081 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6082 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6083 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6084 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6086 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6087 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6088 There are four possible values:
6092 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6093 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6094 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6095 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6096 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6101 @cindex adopting articles
6106 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6107 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6108 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6109 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6112 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6113 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6114 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6115 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6116 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6117 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6118 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6121 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6122 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6123 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6127 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6128 display them after one another.
6131 Don't gather loose threads.
6134 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6135 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6136 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6137 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6138 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6139 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6140 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6141 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6142 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6143 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6144 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6146 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6147 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6148 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6151 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6152 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6153 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6154 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6155 simplification is used.
6157 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6158 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6159 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6160 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6162 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6164 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6170 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6171 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6172 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6173 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6178 (mapconcat 'identity
6179 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6181 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6184 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6187 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6188 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6189 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6190 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6191 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6192 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6194 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6197 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6198 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6199 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6201 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6202 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6205 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6206 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6207 Remove excessive whitespace.
6210 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6213 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6214 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6215 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6216 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6217 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6218 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6219 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6220 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6222 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6223 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6224 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6225 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6226 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6227 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6228 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6229 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6230 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6234 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6235 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6236 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6237 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6239 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6240 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6241 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6244 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6248 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6249 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6255 @node Filling In Threads
6256 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6259 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6260 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6261 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6262 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6263 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6264 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6265 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6266 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6267 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6268 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
6269 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
6270 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
6272 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6273 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6274 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6276 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6277 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6278 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6279 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6280 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6281 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6282 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6283 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6284 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6285 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6286 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6287 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6288 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6289 @code{nil} by default.
6291 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6292 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6293 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6294 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6295 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6296 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6297 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6299 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6300 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6301 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6306 @node More Threading
6307 @subsubsection More Threading
6310 @item gnus-show-threads
6311 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6312 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6313 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6314 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6315 slower and more awkward.
6317 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6318 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6319 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6322 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6323 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6324 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6325 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6326 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6327 threads are expunged.
6329 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6330 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6331 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6334 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6335 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6336 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6337 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6338 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6339 result in a new thread.
6341 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6342 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6343 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6346 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6347 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6348 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6349 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6350 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6351 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6352 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6353 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6354 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6355 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6356 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6361 @node Low-Level Threading
6362 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6366 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6367 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6368 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6370 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6371 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6372 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6373 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6374 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6375 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6376 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6377 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6378 meaningful. Here's one example:
6381 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6383 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6384 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6386 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6388 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6395 @node Thread Commands
6396 @subsection Thread Commands
6397 @cindex thread commands
6403 @kindex T k (Summary)
6404 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6406 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6407 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6408 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6413 @kindex T l (Summary)
6414 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6415 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6416 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6417 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6420 @kindex T i (Summary)
6421 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6422 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6423 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6426 @kindex T # (Summary)
6427 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6428 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6429 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6432 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6433 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6434 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6435 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6438 @kindex T T (Summary)
6439 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6440 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6443 @kindex T s (Summary)
6444 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6445 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6446 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6449 @kindex T h (Summary)
6450 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6451 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6454 @kindex T S (Summary)
6455 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6456 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6459 @kindex T H (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6461 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6464 @kindex T t (Summary)
6465 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6466 Re-thread the current article's thread
6467 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6468 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6471 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6473 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6474 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6478 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6479 understand the numeric prefix.
6484 @kindex T n (Summary)
6486 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6488 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6490 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6493 @kindex T p (Summary)
6495 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6497 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6498 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6499 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6502 @kindex T d (Summary)
6503 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6504 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6507 @kindex T u (Summary)
6508 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6509 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6512 @kindex T o (Summary)
6513 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6514 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6517 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6518 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6519 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6520 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6521 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6522 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6523 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6524 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6525 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6526 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6527 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6528 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6532 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6533 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6535 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6536 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6537 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6538 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6539 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6540 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6541 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6542 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6543 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6544 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6545 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6547 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6548 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6549 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6550 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
6551 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6553 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6554 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6555 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6557 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6558 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6559 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6560 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6561 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6562 ascending article order.
6564 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6565 by number, you could do something like:
6568 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6569 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6570 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6571 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6574 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6575 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6576 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6577 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6578 which the articles arrived.
6580 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6584 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6586 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6587 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6590 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6591 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6592 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6593 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6596 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6597 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6598 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6599 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6600 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6601 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6602 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6603 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6604 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6605 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6606 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6607 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6608 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6610 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6614 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6615 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6616 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6621 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6622 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6623 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6624 @cindex article pre-fetch
6627 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6628 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6629 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6630 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6631 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6633 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6634 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6636 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6637 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6638 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6639 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6640 connection is blocked.
6642 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6643 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6644 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6645 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6647 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6648 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6649 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6650 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6653 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6656 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6657 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6658 happen automatically.
6660 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6661 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6662 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6663 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6664 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6665 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6666 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6668 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6669 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6670 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6671 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6672 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6673 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6674 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6675 data structure as the only parameter.
6677 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6680 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6681 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6682 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6683 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6686 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6689 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6690 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6691 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6693 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6694 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6695 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6696 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6700 Remove articles when they are read.
6703 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6706 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6708 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6709 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6710 @c from the next group.
6713 @node Article Caching
6714 @section Article Caching
6715 @cindex article caching
6718 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6719 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6720 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6721 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6722 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6724 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6726 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6727 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6728 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6729 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6730 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6731 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6732 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6733 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6735 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6736 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6737 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6738 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6739 as dormant, and don't worry.
6741 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6743 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6744 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6745 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6746 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6747 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6748 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6749 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6750 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6751 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6752 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6754 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6755 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6756 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6757 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6758 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6759 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6760 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6761 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6762 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6763 not then be downloaded by this command.
6765 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6766 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6767 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6768 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6769 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6770 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6772 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6773 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6774 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6775 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6776 variables, the group is not cached.
6778 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6779 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6780 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6781 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6782 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6783 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6784 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6785 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6786 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6790 @node Persistent Articles
6791 @section Persistent Articles
6792 @cindex persistent articles
6794 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6795 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6796 useful in my opinion.
6798 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6799 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6800 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6801 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6802 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6803 the expiry going on at the news server.
6805 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6806 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6807 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6813 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6814 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6817 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6818 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6819 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6820 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6824 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6826 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6827 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6828 interested in persistent articles:
6831 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6835 @node Article Backlog
6836 @section Article Backlog
6838 @cindex article backlog
6840 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6841 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6842 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6843 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6844 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6845 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6846 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6847 increase memory usage some.
6849 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6850 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6851 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6852 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6853 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6854 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6855 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6857 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6860 @node Saving Articles
6861 @section Saving Articles
6862 @cindex saving articles
6864 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6865 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6866 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6867 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6868 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6870 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6871 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6872 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6874 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6875 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6876 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6877 deleted before saving.
6883 @kindex O o (Summary)
6885 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6886 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6887 Save the current article using the default article saver
6888 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6891 @kindex O m (Summary)
6892 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6893 Save the current article in mail format
6894 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6897 @kindex O r (Summary)
6898 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6899 Save the current article in rmail format
6900 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6903 @kindex O f (Summary)
6904 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6905 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6906 Save the current article in plain file format
6907 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6910 @kindex O F (Summary)
6911 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6912 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6913 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6916 @kindex O b (Summary)
6917 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6918 Save the current article body in plain file format
6919 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6922 @kindex O h (Summary)
6923 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6924 Save the current article in mh folder format
6925 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6928 @kindex O v (Summary)
6929 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6930 Save the current article in a VM folder
6931 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6935 @kindex O p (Summary)
6937 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6938 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6939 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6942 @kindex O P (Summary)
6943 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
6944 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
6945 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
6946 external program Muttprint (see
6947 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
6948 options to use is controlled by the variable
6949 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
6953 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6954 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6955 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6956 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6957 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6958 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6959 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6960 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6961 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6962 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6963 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6964 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6968 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6969 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6970 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6971 functions below, or you can create your own.
6975 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6976 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6977 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6978 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6979 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6980 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6981 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6983 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6984 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6985 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6986 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6987 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6988 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6990 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6991 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6992 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6993 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6994 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6995 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6996 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6998 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
6999 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7000 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7001 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7002 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7003 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7005 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7006 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7007 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7008 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7009 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7011 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7012 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7013 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7014 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7015 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7018 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7019 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7020 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7021 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7022 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7024 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7025 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7026 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7027 reader to use this setting.
7030 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7031 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7032 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7033 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7036 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7037 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7038 available functions that generate names:
7042 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7043 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7044 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7046 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7047 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7048 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7050 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7051 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7052 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7054 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7055 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7056 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7058 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7059 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7060 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7063 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7064 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7065 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7066 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7067 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7071 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7072 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7073 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7074 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7077 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7078 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7079 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7080 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7081 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7082 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7083 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7084 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7085 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7087 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7088 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7089 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7090 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7092 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7093 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7094 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7097 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7098 lots of mail groups called things like
7099 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7100 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7101 following will do just that:
7104 (defun my-save-name (group)
7105 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7106 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7108 (setq gnus-split-methods
7109 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7114 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7115 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7116 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7117 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7118 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7119 all the files in the top level directory
7120 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7121 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7122 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7123 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7125 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7126 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7127 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7128 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7129 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7132 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7136 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7137 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7138 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7141 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7142 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7143 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7144 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7147 @node Decoding Articles
7148 @section Decoding Articles
7149 @cindex decoding articles
7151 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7152 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7155 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7156 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7157 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7158 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7159 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7160 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7164 @cindex article series
7165 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7166 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7167 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7168 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7169 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7171 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7172 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7173 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7175 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7176 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7177 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7179 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7180 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7181 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7184 @node Uuencoded Articles
7185 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7187 @cindex uuencoded articles
7192 @kindex X u (Summary)
7193 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7194 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7195 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7198 @kindex X U (Summary)
7199 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7200 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7201 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7204 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7205 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7206 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7209 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7210 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7211 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7212 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7216 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7217 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7218 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7219 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7220 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7222 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7223 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7224 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7225 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7228 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7229 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7230 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7231 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7232 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7233 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7237 @node Shell Archives
7238 @subsection Shell Archives
7240 @cindex shell archives
7241 @cindex shared articles
7243 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7244 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7245 some commands to deal with these:
7250 @kindex X s (Summary)
7251 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7252 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7255 @kindex X S (Summary)
7256 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7257 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7260 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7261 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7262 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7265 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7266 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7267 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7268 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7272 @node PostScript Files
7273 @subsection PostScript Files
7279 @kindex X p (Summary)
7280 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7281 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7284 @kindex X P (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7286 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7287 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7290 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7291 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7292 View the current PostScript series
7293 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7296 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7297 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7298 View and save the current PostScript series
7299 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7304 @subsection Other Files
7308 @kindex X o (Summary)
7309 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7310 Save the current series
7311 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7314 @kindex X b (Summary)
7315 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7316 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7317 doesn't really work yet.
7321 @node Decoding Variables
7322 @subsection Decoding Variables
7324 Adjective, not verb.
7327 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7328 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7329 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7333 @node Rule Variables
7334 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7335 @cindex rule variables
7337 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7338 variables are of the form
7341 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7348 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7349 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7351 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7352 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7355 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7356 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7359 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7360 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7361 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7362 user and default view rules.
7364 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7365 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7366 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7371 @node Other Decode Variables
7372 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7375 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7377 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7378 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7379 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7380 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7381 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7385 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7386 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7389 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7390 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7391 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7394 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7395 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7396 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7397 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7398 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7401 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7402 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7403 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7405 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7406 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7407 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7408 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7409 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7412 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7413 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7414 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7416 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7417 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7418 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7419 looking for files to display.
7421 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7422 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7423 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7426 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7427 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7428 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7431 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7432 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7433 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7436 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7437 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7438 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7441 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7442 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7443 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7444 decoded articles as unread.
7446 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7447 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7448 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7449 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7451 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7452 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7453 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7455 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7456 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7458 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7459 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7460 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7461 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7463 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7464 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7465 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7466 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7467 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7468 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7469 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7470 simply dropped them.
7475 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7476 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7480 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7481 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7482 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7483 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7484 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7485 for you when you post the article.
7487 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7488 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7489 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7490 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7492 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7493 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7494 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7495 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7496 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7497 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7498 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7500 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7501 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7502 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7503 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7504 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7505 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7506 Default is @code{t}.
7512 @subsection Viewing Files
7513 @cindex viewing files
7514 @cindex pseudo-articles
7516 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7517 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7518 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7519 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7520 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7521 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7522 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7524 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7525 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7526 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7527 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7529 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7530 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7531 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7533 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7534 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7535 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7536 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7537 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7539 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7540 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7541 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7542 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7543 a list of parameters to that command.
7545 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7546 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7547 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7549 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7550 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7551 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7554 @node Article Treatment
7555 @section Article Treatment
7557 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7558 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7559 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7560 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7561 these articles easier.
7564 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7565 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7566 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7567 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7568 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7569 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7570 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7571 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7572 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7573 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7577 @node Article Highlighting
7578 @subsection Article Highlighting
7579 @cindex highlighting
7581 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7582 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7587 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7588 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7589 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7590 Do much highlighting of the current article
7591 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7592 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7595 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7596 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7597 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7598 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7599 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7600 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7601 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7602 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7603 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7604 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7605 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7606 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7609 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7610 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7611 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7613 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7616 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7618 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7619 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7620 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7622 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7623 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7624 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7626 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7627 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7628 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7629 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7630 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7631 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7633 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7634 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7635 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7637 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7638 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7639 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7641 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7642 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7643 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7644 that it's a citation.
7646 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7647 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7648 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7650 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7651 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7652 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7654 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7655 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7656 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7657 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7663 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7664 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7665 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7666 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7667 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7668 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7669 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7670 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7675 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7678 @node Article Fontisizing
7679 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7681 @cindex article emphasis
7683 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7684 @kindex W e (Summary)
7685 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7686 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7687 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7688 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7690 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7691 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7692 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7693 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7694 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7695 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7696 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7697 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7701 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7702 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7703 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7712 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7713 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7714 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7715 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7716 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7717 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7718 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7719 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7720 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7721 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7722 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7723 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7724 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7726 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7727 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7728 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7732 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7735 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7737 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7738 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7739 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7740 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7742 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7745 @node Article Hiding
7746 @subsection Article Hiding
7747 @cindex article hiding
7749 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7750 too much cruft in most articles.
7755 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7756 @findex gnus-article-hide
7757 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7758 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7759 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7762 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7763 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7764 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7768 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7769 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7770 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7771 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7774 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7775 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7776 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7780 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7781 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7782 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7783 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7784 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7785 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7786 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7787 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7791 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7792 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7793 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7794 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7799 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7800 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7801 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7802 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7803 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7804 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7805 articles that have signatures in them do:
7807 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7809 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7811 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7812 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7814 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7817 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7822 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7823 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7824 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7825 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7828 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7829 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7832 @cindex stripping advertisements
7833 @cindex advertisements
7834 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7835 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7836 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7837 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7838 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7839 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7840 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7841 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7842 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7843 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7847 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7848 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7849 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7850 customizing the hiding:
7854 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7855 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7856 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7857 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7858 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7859 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7860 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7865 Starting point of the hidden text.
7867 Ending point of the hidden text.
7869 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7871 Number of lines of hidden text.
7874 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7875 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7876 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7877 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7878 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7883 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7884 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7886 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7887 following two variables:
7890 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7891 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7892 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7893 50), hide the cited text.
7895 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7896 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7897 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7902 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7903 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7904 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7905 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7906 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7907 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7911 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7912 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7913 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7915 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7916 citation customization.
7918 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7922 @node Article Washing
7923 @subsection Article Washing
7925 @cindex article washing
7927 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7928 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7930 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7931 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7934 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7935 articles by default.
7940 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7941 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7945 @kindex W l (Summary)
7946 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7947 Remove page breaks from the current article
7948 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7952 @kindex W r (Summary)
7953 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7954 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7955 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7956 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7957 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7958 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7960 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7961 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7962 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7963 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7967 @kindex W t (Summary)
7969 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7970 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7971 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7974 @kindex W v (Summary)
7975 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7976 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7977 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7980 @kindex W o (Summary)
7981 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7982 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7985 @kindex W d (Summary)
7986 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7987 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7989 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7991 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7992 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7993 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7994 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7997 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7998 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7999 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8000 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8003 @kindex W w (Summary)
8004 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8005 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8007 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8011 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8012 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8013 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8016 @kindex W C (Summary)
8017 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8018 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8019 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8022 @kindex W c (Summary)
8023 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8024 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8025 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8026 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8027 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8030 @kindex W q (Summary)
8031 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8032 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8033 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8034 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8035 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8036 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
8037 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8038 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8039 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8042 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8043 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8044 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8045 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8046 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
8047 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8048 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8050 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8053 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8054 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8055 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8056 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8057 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8060 @kindex W h (Summary)
8061 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8062 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
8063 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
8064 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
8066 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8069 @kindex W b (Summary)
8070 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8071 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8072 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8075 @kindex W B (Summary)
8076 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8077 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8078 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8081 @kindex W p (Summary)
8082 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8083 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8084 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8085 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8086 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8087 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8088 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8091 @kindex W s (Summary)
8092 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8093 Verify a signed (PGP, PGP/MIME or S/MIME) message
8094 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}).
8097 @kindex W W H (Summary)
8098 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
8099 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8100 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
8103 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8104 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8105 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8106 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8109 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8110 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8111 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8112 lines with a single empty line.
8113 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8116 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8117 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8118 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8119 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8122 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8123 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8124 Do all the three commands above
8125 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8128 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8129 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8130 Remove all blank lines
8131 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8134 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8136 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8137 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8140 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8141 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8142 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8143 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8147 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8150 @node Article Header
8151 @subsection Article Header
8153 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8158 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8159 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8160 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8163 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8164 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8165 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8166 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8169 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8170 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-header
8171 Fold all the message headers
8172 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8177 @node Article Buttons
8178 @subsection Article Buttons
8181 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8182 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8183 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8184 button on these references.
8186 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8187 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
8188 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
8193 @item gnus-button-alist
8194 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8195 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8198 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8204 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8205 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8206 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
8209 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8210 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8211 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8214 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8215 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8216 avoid false matches.
8219 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8222 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8223 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8227 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8230 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8233 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8234 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8235 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8236 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8237 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8240 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8243 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8245 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8246 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8247 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8248 default values of the variables above.
8250 @item gnus-article-button-face
8251 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8252 Face used on buttons.
8254 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8255 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8256 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8260 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8264 @subsection Article Date
8266 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8267 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8268 when the article was sent.
8273 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8274 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8275 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8276 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8279 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8280 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8282 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8283 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8286 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8287 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8288 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8291 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8292 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8293 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8294 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8297 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8298 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8299 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8300 @findex format-time-string
8301 Display the date using a user-defined format
8302 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8303 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8304 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8305 for a list of possible format specs.
8308 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8309 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8310 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8311 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8312 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8313 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8316 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8319 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8320 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8323 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8324 into wonderful absurdities.
8326 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8329 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8332 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8333 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8337 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8338 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8339 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8340 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8341 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8342 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8343 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8347 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8348 preferred format automatically.
8351 @node Article Display
8352 @subsection Article Display
8357 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8358 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8360 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8361 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8363 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8364 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8366 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8367 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8369 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8374 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8376 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8377 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8380 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-smiley-smiley
8382 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8385 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8386 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8387 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8390 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8392 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8393 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8396 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8397 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8398 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8399 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8402 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8403 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8404 Remove all images from the article buffer
8405 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8411 @node Article Signature
8412 @subsection Article Signature
8414 @cindex article signature
8416 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8417 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8418 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8419 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8420 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8421 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8422 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8423 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8424 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8427 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8428 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8429 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8430 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8431 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8432 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8433 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8434 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8437 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8440 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8441 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8442 signature when displaying articles.
8446 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8449 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8452 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8453 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8455 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8456 in question is not a signature.
8459 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8460 listed above. Here's an example:
8463 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8464 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8467 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8468 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8469 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8470 signature after all.
8473 @node Article Miscellania
8474 @subsection Article Miscellania
8478 @kindex A t (Summary)
8479 @findex gnus-article-babel
8480 Translate the article from one language to another
8481 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8487 @section @sc{mime} Commands
8488 @cindex MIME decoding
8490 @cindex viewing attachments
8492 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8493 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8499 @kindex K v (Summary)
8500 View the @sc{mime} part.
8503 @kindex K o (Summary)
8504 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8507 @kindex K c (Summary)
8508 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8511 @kindex K e (Summary)
8512 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8515 @kindex K i (Summary)
8516 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8519 @kindex K | (Summary)
8520 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8523 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8528 @kindex K b (Summary)
8529 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8530 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8534 @kindex K m (Summary)
8535 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8536 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8537 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8538 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8539 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8542 @kindex X m (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8544 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8545 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8546 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8549 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
8551 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8552 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8555 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8556 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8557 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8560 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8561 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8562 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8564 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8565 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8566 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8567 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
8568 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
8569 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8572 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8573 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8574 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8581 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8582 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8583 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8584 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8587 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8590 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8594 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8595 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8596 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8597 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8598 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8599 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8602 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8603 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8604 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8605 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8606 displayed. This variable overrides
8607 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8609 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8610 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8611 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8613 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8614 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8615 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8616 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8617 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8618 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8619 save all jpegs into some directory).
8621 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8624 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8625 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8627 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8628 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8629 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8630 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8631 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8634 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8635 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8636 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8638 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8639 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8640 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8641 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8643 Ready-made functions include@*
8644 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8645 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8646 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8647 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8648 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8649 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8650 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8651 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8652 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8653 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8654 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8655 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8657 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8658 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8660 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8661 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8662 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8665 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8666 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8667 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8668 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8672 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8681 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8682 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8683 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8684 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8685 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8686 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8687 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8689 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8690 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8691 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8692 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8694 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8695 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8696 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8697 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8698 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8699 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8700 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8701 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8703 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8704 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8705 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8706 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8707 quoted-printable header encoding.
8709 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8710 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8711 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8715 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8718 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8719 means encode all charsets),
8721 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8722 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8723 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8730 @cindex coding system aliases
8731 @cindex preferred charset
8733 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8735 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8736 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8739 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8740 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8743 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8744 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8746 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8749 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8752 This will almost do the right thing.
8754 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8758 (codepage-setup 1251)
8759 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8763 @node Article Commands
8764 @section Article Commands
8771 @kindex A P (Summary)
8772 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8773 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8774 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8775 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
8776 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
8777 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
8782 @node Summary Sorting
8783 @section Summary Sorting
8784 @cindex summary sorting
8786 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8787 can't really see why you'd want that.
8792 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8793 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8794 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8797 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8798 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8799 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8802 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8803 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8804 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8807 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8808 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8809 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8812 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8813 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8814 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8817 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8818 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8819 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8822 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8823 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8824 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8827 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
8828 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
8829 Sort using the default sorting method
8830 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
8833 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8834 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8835 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8836 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8837 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8841 @node Finding the Parent
8842 @section Finding the Parent
8843 @cindex parent articles
8844 @cindex referring articles
8849 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8850 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8851 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8852 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8853 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8854 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8855 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8856 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8857 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8859 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8860 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8861 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8862 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8863 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8867 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8868 @kindex A R (Summary)
8869 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8870 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8873 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8874 @kindex A T (Summary)
8875 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8876 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8877 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8878 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8879 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8880 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8881 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8883 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8884 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8885 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8886 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8887 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8888 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8891 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8892 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8894 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8895 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8896 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8897 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8898 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8899 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8900 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8903 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8904 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8905 by giving this command a prefix.
8907 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8908 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
8909 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8910 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8911 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8912 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8915 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8916 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8917 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8920 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8921 then ask Deja if that fails:
8924 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8926 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8929 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
8930 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox}
8931 and @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8932 @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder} and @code{nnimap}1 are only able to locate
8933 articles that have been posted to the current group. (Anything else
8934 would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at
8938 @node Alternative Approaches
8939 @section Alternative Approaches
8941 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8942 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8945 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8946 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8951 @subsection Pick and Read
8952 @cindex pick and read
8954 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8955 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8956 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8957 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8959 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8960 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8961 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8962 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8963 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8964 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8966 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8971 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8972 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8973 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8974 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8975 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8976 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8977 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8978 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8981 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8982 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8983 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8984 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8988 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8989 Unpick the thread or article
8990 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8991 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8992 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8993 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8994 the thread or article at that line.
8998 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8999 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9000 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9001 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9002 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9003 will still be visible when you are reading.
9007 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9008 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9009 which is mapped to the same function
9010 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9012 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9015 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9018 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9019 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9021 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9022 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9023 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9025 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9026 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9027 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9028 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9029 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9030 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9031 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9035 @subsection Binary Groups
9036 @cindex binary groups
9038 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9039 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9040 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9041 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9042 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9043 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9044 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9047 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9048 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9049 command, when you have turned on this mode
9050 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9052 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9053 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9057 @section Tree Display
9060 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9061 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9062 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9063 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9066 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9069 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9070 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9071 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9073 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9074 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9075 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9076 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9077 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9079 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9080 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9081 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9082 default is @code{modeline}.
9084 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9085 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9086 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9087 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9088 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9089 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9090 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9096 The name of the poster.
9098 The @code{From} header.
9100 The number of the article.
9102 The opening bracket.
9104 The closing bracket.
9109 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9111 Variables related to the display are:
9114 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9115 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9116 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9117 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9118 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9119 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9121 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9122 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9123 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9124 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9128 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9129 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9130 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9131 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9132 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9133 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9134 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9135 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9136 other windows displayed next to it.
9138 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9142 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9143 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9146 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9147 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9148 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9149 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9150 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9151 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9152 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9156 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9159 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9169 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9173 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9174 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9176 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9178 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9183 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9184 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9185 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9188 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9189 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9190 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9191 (gnus-add-configuration
9195 (summary 0.75 point)
9200 @xref{Window Layout}.
9203 @node Mail Group Commands
9204 @section Mail Group Commands
9205 @cindex mail group commands
9207 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9208 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9210 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9211 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9216 @kindex B e (Summary)
9217 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9218 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9219 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9220 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9221 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9224 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9225 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9226 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9227 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9228 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9229 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9232 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9233 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9234 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9235 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9236 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9237 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9240 @kindex B m (Summary)
9242 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9243 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9244 Move the article from one mail group to another
9245 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9246 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9249 @kindex B c (Summary)
9251 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9252 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9253 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9254 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9255 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9258 @kindex B B (Summary)
9259 @cindex crosspost mail
9260 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9261 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9262 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9263 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9264 be properly updated.
9267 @kindex B i (Summary)
9268 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9269 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9270 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9271 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9274 @kindex B r (Summary)
9275 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9276 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9277 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9278 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9279 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9280 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9281 (which is the default).
9285 @kindex B w (Summary)
9287 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9288 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9289 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9290 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9291 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9292 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9295 @kindex B q (Summary)
9296 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9297 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9298 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9299 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9302 @kindex B t (Summary)
9303 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9304 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9305 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9308 @kindex B p (Summary)
9309 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9310 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9311 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9312 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9313 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9314 article from your news server (or rather, from
9315 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9316 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9317 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9318 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9319 just not have arrived yet.
9323 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9324 @cindex moving articles
9325 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9326 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9327 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9328 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9329 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9330 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9331 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9334 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9335 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9336 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9337 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9341 @node Various Summary Stuff
9342 @section Various Summary Stuff
9345 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9346 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9347 * Summary Generation Commands::
9348 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9352 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9353 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9354 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9356 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9357 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9358 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9359 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9360 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9361 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9364 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9365 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9366 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9367 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9368 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9370 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9371 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9372 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9375 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9376 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9377 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9378 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9379 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9380 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9381 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9382 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9383 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9384 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9386 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9387 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9388 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9389 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9390 list of articles to be selected.
9392 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9393 the list in one particular group:
9396 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9397 (if (string= group "some.group")
9398 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9402 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9403 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9404 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9405 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9406 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9407 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9408 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9409 buffers. For example:
9412 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9413 '(message-use-followup-to
9414 (gnus-visible-headers .
9415 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9421 @node Summary Group Information
9422 @subsection Summary Group Information
9427 @kindex H f (Summary)
9428 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9429 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9430 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9431 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9432 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9433 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9434 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9435 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9436 be used for fetching the file.
9439 @kindex H d (Summary)
9440 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9441 Give a brief description of the current group
9442 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9443 rereading the description from the server.
9446 @kindex H h (Summary)
9447 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9448 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9449 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9452 @kindex H i (Summary)
9453 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9454 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9458 @node Searching for Articles
9459 @subsection Searching for Articles
9464 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9465 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9466 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9467 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9470 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9471 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9472 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9473 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9477 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9478 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9479 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9480 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9481 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9482 search backward instead.
9484 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9485 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9488 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9489 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9490 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9491 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9494 @node Summary Generation Commands
9495 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9500 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9501 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9502 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9505 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9506 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9507 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9508 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9513 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9514 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9520 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9521 @kindex A D (Summary)
9522 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9523 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9524 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9525 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9526 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9527 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9528 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9529 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9533 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9534 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9535 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9536 several documents into one biiig group
9537 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9538 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9539 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9540 command understands the process/prefix convention
9541 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9544 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9545 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9546 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9547 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9548 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9549 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9553 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9554 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9555 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9558 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9559 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9560 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9561 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9564 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9565 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9566 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9567 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9572 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9573 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9574 @cindex summary exit
9575 @cindex exiting groups
9577 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9578 group and return you to the group buffer.
9584 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9586 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9587 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9588 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9589 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9590 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9591 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9592 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9593 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9594 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9595 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9596 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9600 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9602 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9603 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9604 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9608 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9610 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9611 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9612 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9613 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9616 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9617 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9618 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9619 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9622 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9623 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9624 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9625 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9628 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9629 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9630 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9631 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9632 all articles, both read and unread.
9636 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9637 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9638 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9639 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9640 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9641 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9642 articles, both read and unread.
9645 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9646 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9647 Exit the group and go to the next group
9648 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9651 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9652 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9653 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9654 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9657 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9658 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9659 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9660 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9661 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9662 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9665 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9666 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9667 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9668 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9670 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9671 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9672 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9673 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9674 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9675 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9676 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9677 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9678 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9679 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9680 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9681 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9683 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9685 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9686 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9687 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9688 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9689 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9690 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9691 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9692 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9693 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9696 @node Crosspost Handling
9697 @section Crosspost Handling
9701 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
9702 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
9703 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
9704 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
9705 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
9706 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
9709 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
9710 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
9711 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
9712 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
9713 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
9715 @cindex cross-posting
9718 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
9719 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
9720 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
9721 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
9722 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
9723 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
9724 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
9725 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
9726 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
9727 the cross reference mechanism.
9729 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
9730 @cindex overview.fmt
9731 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
9732 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
9733 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
9734 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
9735 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
9736 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
9739 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
9740 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9741 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9746 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9749 @node Duplicate Suppression
9750 @section Duplicate Suppression
9752 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9753 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9754 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9755 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9760 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9761 is evil and not very common.
9764 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9765 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9768 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9769 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9772 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9775 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9776 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9778 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9779 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9780 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9781 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9782 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9783 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9784 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9787 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9788 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9789 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9790 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9791 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9795 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9796 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9797 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9799 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9800 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9801 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9802 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9803 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
9804 session are suppressed.
9806 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9807 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9808 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9809 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9811 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9812 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9813 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9814 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9817 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
9818 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9819 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9820 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9821 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
9822 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9823 to you to figure out, I think.
9828 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
9829 The formats that are supported are PGP (plain text, RFC 1991 format),
9830 PGP/MIME (RFC 2015/3156) and S/MIME, however you need some external
9831 programs to get things to work:
9835 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9836 gpg.el as well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG). @xref{Using GPG}.
9839 To verify or decrypt S/MIME message, you need to install OpenSSL.
9840 OpenSSL 0.9.6 or newer is recommended.
9844 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
9845 manual. @xref{Security, ,Security, message, The Message Manual}.
9848 @item mm-verify-option
9849 @vindex mm-verify-option
9850 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9851 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9852 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9854 @item mm-decrypt-option
9855 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9856 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9857 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9858 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9863 @section Mailing List
9865 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
9866 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
9867 possibly using @kbd{A M} in the summary buffer, or say:
9870 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
9873 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
9878 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
9879 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
9880 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
9883 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
9884 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
9885 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
9888 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
9889 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
9890 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
9894 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
9895 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
9896 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
9899 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
9900 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9901 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
9904 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
9905 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
9906 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
9910 @node Article Buffer
9911 @chapter Article Buffer
9912 @cindex article buffer
9914 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9915 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9916 tell Gnus otherwise.
9919 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9920 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9921 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9922 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9923 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9927 @node Hiding Headers
9928 @section Hiding Headers
9929 @cindex hiding headers
9930 @cindex deleting headers
9932 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9933 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9935 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9936 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9937 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9938 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9939 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9940 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9941 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9942 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9943 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9945 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9949 @item gnus-visible-headers
9950 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9951 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9952 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9953 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9955 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9956 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9959 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9962 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9965 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9966 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9967 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9968 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9969 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9970 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9972 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9973 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9976 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9979 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9982 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9983 variable will have no effect.
9987 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9988 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9989 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9990 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9991 the headers are to be displayed.
9993 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9994 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9997 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10000 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10001 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10003 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10004 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10005 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10006 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10007 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10008 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10009 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10012 These conditions are:
10015 Remove all empty headers.
10017 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10018 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10020 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10021 @code{From} header.
10023 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10026 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10027 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10029 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10032 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10034 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10037 To include these three elements, you could say something like;
10040 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10041 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10044 This is also the default value for this variable.
10048 @section Using MIME
10051 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10052 while people stand around yawning.
10054 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10055 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10057 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10058 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10059 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10061 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10062 @findex gnus-display-mime
10063 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10064 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10065 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10066 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10068 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10072 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10073 @item RET (Article)
10074 @kindex RET (Article)
10075 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10076 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10077 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
10079 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10080 @item M-RET (Article)
10081 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10083 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10084 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10086 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10088 @kindex t (Article)
10089 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10090 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10092 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10094 @kindex C (Article)
10095 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10096 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10098 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10100 @kindex o (Article)
10101 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10102 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10104 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10105 @item C-o (Article)
10106 @kindex C-o (Article)
10107 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10108 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10109 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10110 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10111 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10112 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10114 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10116 @kindex c (Article)
10117 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10118 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10120 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10122 @kindex p (Article)
10123 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10124 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10125 @file{.mailcap} file.
10127 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10129 @kindex i (Article)
10130 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10131 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10132 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10133 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10134 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10137 @findex gnus-mime-internalize-part
10139 @kindex E (Article)
10140 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10141 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10142 (@code{gnus-mime-internalize-part}).
10144 @findex gnus-mime-externalize-part
10146 @kindex e (Article)
10147 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10148 (@code{gnus-mime-externalize-part}).
10150 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10152 @kindex | (Article)
10153 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10155 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10157 @kindex . (Article)
10158 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10159 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10163 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10164 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
10167 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10168 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10169 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10170 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10171 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10172 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10173 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10174 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10175 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10177 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10179 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10182 @node Customizing Articles
10183 @section Customizing Articles
10184 @cindex article customization
10186 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10187 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10188 called automatically when you select the articles.
10190 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10191 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10192 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10193 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10195 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10196 for sensible values.
10200 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10203 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10206 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10209 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10212 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10216 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10217 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10218 regexps in the list.
10221 A list where the first element is not a string:
10223 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10224 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10225 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10229 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10234 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10235 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10236 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10237 considered to contain just a single part.
10239 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10240 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10241 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10242 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10243 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10244 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10245 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10247 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10248 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10249 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10250 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10253 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10254 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10255 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10256 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10257 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10258 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10259 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10260 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10261 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10262 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10263 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
10264 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10265 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10266 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10267 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10268 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10269 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10270 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10271 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10272 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10273 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10274 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10275 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10276 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10277 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10278 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10279 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10280 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10281 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10282 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10283 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10284 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10285 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10286 @item gnus-treat-translate
10287 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10288 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10289 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10290 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10291 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10292 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10293 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10294 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10297 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10298 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10299 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10300 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10301 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10305 @node Article Keymap
10306 @section Article Keymap
10308 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10309 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10310 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10311 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10314 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10319 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10320 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10321 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10324 @kindex DEL (Article)
10325 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10326 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10329 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10330 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10331 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10332 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10333 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10336 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10337 @findex gnus-article-mail
10338 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10339 given a prefix, include the mail.
10342 @kindex s (Article)
10343 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10344 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10345 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10348 @kindex ? (Article)
10349 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10350 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10351 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10354 @kindex TAB (Article)
10355 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10356 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10357 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10360 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10361 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10362 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10368 @section Misc Article
10372 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10373 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10374 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10375 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10378 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10379 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10381 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10382 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10384 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10385 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10386 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10387 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10388 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10389 the contents of the article buffer.
10391 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10392 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10393 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10395 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10396 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10397 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10398 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10400 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10401 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10402 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10403 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10404 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10410 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10411 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10412 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10417 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10420 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10423 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10424 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10425 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10428 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10431 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10434 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10439 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10443 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10445 @item gnus-break-pages
10446 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10447 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10448 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10449 paging will not be done.
10451 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10452 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10453 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10458 @node Composing Messages
10459 @chapter Composing Messages
10460 @cindex composing messages
10463 @cindex sending mail
10469 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10470 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10471 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10472 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
10473 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10474 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10477 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10478 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
10479 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10480 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10481 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10482 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10483 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10484 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
10487 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10488 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10494 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10497 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10498 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10499 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10500 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10502 @item gnus-add-to-list
10503 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10504 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10505 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10510 @node Posting Server
10511 @section Posting Server
10513 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10514 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10516 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10518 @vindex gnus-post-method
10520 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will post using the same
10521 select method as you're reading from (which might be convenient if
10522 you're reading lots of groups from different private servers).
10523 However. If the server you're reading from doesn't allow posting,
10524 just reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
10525 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
10526 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10529 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10532 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10533 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10534 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10535 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10537 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10538 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10540 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10541 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10544 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10545 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10548 @node Mail and Post
10549 @section Mail and Post
10551 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10555 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10556 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10557 @cindex mailing lists
10559 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10560 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10561 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10562 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10563 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10564 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10565 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10566 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10567 still a pain, though.
10571 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10572 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10573 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10576 @findex ispell-message
10578 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10581 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10582 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10585 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10589 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10590 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10592 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10595 Modify to suit your needs.
10598 @node Archived Messages
10599 @section Archived Messages
10600 @cindex archived messages
10601 @cindex sent messages
10603 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10604 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10605 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10606 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
10609 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
10610 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
10611 use to store sent messages. The default is:
10614 (nnfolder "archive"
10615 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
10616 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
10617 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
10618 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
10621 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
10622 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
10623 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
10624 directory chosen, you could say something like:
10627 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
10628 '(nnfolder "archive"
10629 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
10630 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
10631 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
10634 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
10636 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
10637 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
10638 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
10640 This variable can be used to do the following:
10645 Messages will be saved in that group.
10647 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
10648 message will not be stored in the select method given by
10649 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
10650 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
10651 has the default value shown above. Then setting
10652 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
10653 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
10654 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
10658 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
10660 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
10661 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
10664 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
10669 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
10671 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
10674 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
10676 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
10679 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
10681 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10682 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
10683 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
10684 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
10687 More complex stuff:
10689 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10690 '((if (message-news-p)
10695 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
10696 messages in one file per month:
10699 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
10700 '((if (message-news-p)
10702 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
10705 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
10706 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
10708 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
10709 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
10710 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
10711 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
10712 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
10713 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
10714 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
10715 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
10716 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
10717 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
10719 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
10720 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
10721 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
10722 this will disable archiving.
10725 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
10726 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
10727 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
10728 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
10729 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
10732 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
10733 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
10734 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
10737 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
10738 but the latter is the preferred method.
10740 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10741 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
10742 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
10747 @node Posting Styles
10748 @section Posting Styles
10749 @cindex posting styles
10752 All them variables, they make my head swim.
10754 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
10755 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
10756 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
10759 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
10760 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
10761 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
10762 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
10763 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
10768 (signature "Peace and happiness")
10769 (organization "What me?"))
10771 (signature "Death to everybody"))
10772 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
10773 (organization "Emacs is it")))
10776 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
10777 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
10778 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
10779 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
10780 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
10781 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
10782 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
10783 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
10785 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
10786 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
10787 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header (the
10788 next element in the match) in the original article , and compare that to
10789 the last regexp in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function
10790 will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the
10791 variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be
10792 @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value,
10793 then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
10795 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
10796 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
10797 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
10798 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
10799 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
10800 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
10801 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
10802 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
10803 result is thrown away.
10805 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
10806 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
10807 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
10808 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
10809 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
10810 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
10812 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
10813 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
10814 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
10816 @findex message-mail-p
10817 @findex message-news-p
10819 So here's a new example:
10822 (setq gnus-posting-styles
10824 (signature-file "~/.signature")
10826 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
10827 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
10829 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
10830 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
10831 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
10833 (signature my-news-signature))
10834 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
10835 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
10836 ((posting-from-work-p)
10837 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
10838 (address "user@@bar.foo")
10839 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
10840 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
10842 (From (save-excursion
10843 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
10844 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
10846 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
10849 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
10850 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
10851 if you fill many roles.
10858 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
10859 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
10860 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
10861 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
10862 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
10864 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
10865 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
10866 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
10867 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
10868 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
10872 @vindex nndraft-directory
10873 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
10874 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
10875 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
10876 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
10877 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
10878 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
10880 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
10881 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
10884 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
10885 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
10886 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
10887 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
10888 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
10889 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
10890 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
10891 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
10892 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
10893 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
10894 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
10895 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
10896 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
10897 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
10899 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
10900 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
10901 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
10903 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
10904 @kindex D e (Draft)
10905 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
10906 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
10907 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
10909 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
10912 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
10913 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10914 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10915 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10916 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10917 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10918 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10921 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10922 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10923 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10926 @node Rejected Articles
10927 @section Rejected Articles
10928 @cindex rejected articles
10930 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10931 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10932 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10933 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10935 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
10936 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10937 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10938 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
10939 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10941 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10942 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10943 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10949 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10950 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10951 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10953 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10954 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10958 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10959 (setq mml1991-use 'gpg)
10960 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10963 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10964 to 700, for your own safety.
10966 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security
10967 menu or @kbd{C-c C-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME,
10968 @kbd{C-c C-m s s} to sign your message using S/MIME. There's also
10969 @kbd{C-c C-m c p} to encrypt your message with PGP/MIME and @kbd{C-c
10970 C-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME. @xref{Security, ,Security, message,
10971 The Message Manual}.
10973 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10974 you've typed it correctly.
10976 @node Select Methods
10977 @chapter Select Methods
10978 @cindex foreign groups
10979 @cindex select methods
10981 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10982 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10983 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10984 personal mail group.
10986 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10987 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10988 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10989 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10990 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10991 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
10993 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10994 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
10996 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
10999 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11000 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11001 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11002 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11003 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11005 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11008 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11009 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11010 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11011 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11012 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11013 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11014 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11015 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11019 @node Server Buffer
11020 @section Server Buffer
11022 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11023 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11024 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11025 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11026 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11027 back end represents a virtual server.
11029 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11030 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11031 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11032 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11034 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11035 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11036 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11037 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11038 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11039 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11040 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11042 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11043 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11046 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11047 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11048 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11049 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11050 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11051 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11052 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11055 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11056 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11059 @node Server Buffer Format
11060 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11061 @cindex server buffer format
11063 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11064 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11065 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11066 variable, with some simple extensions:
11071 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11074 The name of this server.
11077 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11080 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11083 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11084 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11085 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11086 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11096 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11099 @node Server Commands
11100 @subsection Server Commands
11101 @cindex server commands
11107 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11108 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11112 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11113 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11116 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11117 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11118 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11122 @findex gnus-server-exit
11123 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11127 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11128 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11132 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11133 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11137 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11138 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11142 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11143 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11147 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11148 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11149 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11154 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11155 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11156 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11157 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11162 @node Example Methods
11163 @subsection Example Methods
11165 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11168 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11171 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11177 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11178 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11181 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11182 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11184 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11185 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11189 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11192 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11193 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11195 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11196 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11197 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11201 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11204 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11207 Here's the method for a public spool:
11211 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11212 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11218 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11219 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11220 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11221 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11222 should probably look something like this:
11226 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11227 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11228 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11229 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11232 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11233 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11234 configuration to the example above:
11237 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11240 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11241 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11242 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11246 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11247 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11248 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11249 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11252 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11253 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11254 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11255 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11258 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11259 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11261 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11262 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11264 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11265 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11266 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11268 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11270 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11271 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11272 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11273 will contain the following:
11283 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11284 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11285 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11288 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11289 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11290 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11293 @node Server Variables
11294 @subsection Server Variables
11296 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11297 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11298 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11299 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11300 won't change the "derived" variables.
11302 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11303 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11304 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11305 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11306 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11307 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11308 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11309 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11310 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11314 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11315 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11316 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11320 @node Servers and Methods
11321 @subsection Servers and Methods
11323 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11324 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11325 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11326 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11330 @node Unavailable Servers
11331 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11333 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11334 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11335 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11336 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11337 actually the case or not.
11339 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11340 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11341 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11342 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11343 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11344 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11345 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11346 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11348 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11349 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11351 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11352 with the following commands:
11358 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11359 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11360 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11364 @findex gnus-server-close-server