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4 @settitle Gnus 5.4.27 Manual
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233 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
240 \thispagestyle{empty}
242 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
244 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
245 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
246 are preserved on all copies.
248 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
249 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
250 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
251 permission notice identical to this one.
253 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
254 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
263 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
265 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
267 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
268 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
269 are preserved on all copies.
272 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
273 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
274 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
275 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
278 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
279 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
280 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
281 permission notice identical to this one.
283 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
284 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
290 @title Gnus 5.4.27 Manual
292 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
295 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
296 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
302 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
303 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
304 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
305 permission notice identical to this one.
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
308 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
317 @top The Gnus Newsreader
321 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
322 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
323 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
326 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.4.27
337 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
338 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
340 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
341 being accused of plagiarism:
343 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
344 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
345 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
346 even read news with it!
348 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
349 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
350 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
351 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
352 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
359 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
360 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
361 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
362 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
363 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
364 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
365 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
366 * Various:: General purpose settings.
367 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
368 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
369 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
370 * Key Index:: Key Index.
374 @chapter Starting Gnus
379 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
380 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
383 @findex gnus-other-frame
384 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
385 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
386 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
388 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
392 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
393 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
394 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
395 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
396 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
397 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
398 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
399 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
400 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
401 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
402 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
406 @node Finding the News
407 @section Finding the News
410 @vindex gnus-select-method
412 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
413 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
414 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
415 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
418 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
419 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
422 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
425 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
428 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
431 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
432 certainly be much faster.
434 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
436 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
437 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
438 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
439 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
440 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
441 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
442 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
444 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
445 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
446 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
447 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
449 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
450 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
451 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
452 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
453 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
454 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
456 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
458 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
459 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
460 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
461 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
462 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
463 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
465 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
467 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
468 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
469 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
470 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
471 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
472 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
475 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
476 would typically set this variable to
479 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
484 @section The First Time
485 @cindex first time usage
487 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
488 be subscribed by default.
490 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
491 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
492 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
493 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
496 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
497 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
498 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
500 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
501 help you with most common problems.
503 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
504 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
508 @node The Server is Down
509 @section The Server is Down
510 @cindex server errors
512 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
513 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
514 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
516 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
517 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
518 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
519 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
520 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
521 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
522 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
524 @findex gnus-no-server
525 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
527 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
528 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
529 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
530 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
531 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
532 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
537 @section Slave Gnusae
540 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
541 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
542 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
543 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
545 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
548 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
549 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
550 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
551 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
552 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
553 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
554 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
556 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
557 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
558 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
559 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
560 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
561 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
562 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
563 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
565 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
566 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
569 @node Fetching a Group
570 @section Fetching a Group
571 @cindex fetching a group
573 @findex gnus-fetch-group
574 It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
575 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
576 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
577 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
578 It takes the group name as a parameter.
586 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
587 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
588 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
589 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
590 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
591 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
592 is @code{t} by default. If you set this variable to @code{always}, then
593 Gnus will query the backends for new groups even when you do the @kbd{g}
594 command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
597 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
598 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
599 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
603 @node Checking New Groups
604 @subsection Checking New Groups
606 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
607 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
608 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
609 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
610 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
611 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
612 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
613 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
614 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
615 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
617 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
618 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
619 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
620 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
621 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
622 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
623 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
624 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
625 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
626 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
627 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
629 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
630 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
631 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
632 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
633 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
634 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
637 @node Subscription Methods
638 @subsection Subscription Methods
640 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
641 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
642 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
644 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
649 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
650 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
651 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
652 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
653 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
655 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
656 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
657 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
659 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
660 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
661 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
663 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
664 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
665 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
666 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
667 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
668 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
669 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
670 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
671 up. Or something like that.
673 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
675 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
676 you about @strong{all} new groups.
678 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
679 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
684 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
685 A closely related variable is
686 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
687 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
688 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
689 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
692 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
693 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
694 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
697 @node Filtering New Groups
698 @subsection Filtering New Groups
700 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
701 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
702 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
705 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
708 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
709 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
710 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
711 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
712 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
713 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
714 subscribing these groups.
715 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
716 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
718 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
719 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
720 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
721 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
722 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
723 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
724 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
725 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
727 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
728 Yet another variable that meddles here is
729 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
730 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
731 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
732 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
733 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
734 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
735 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
736 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
738 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
739 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
742 @node Changing Servers
743 @section Changing Servers
744 @cindex changing servers
746 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
747 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
748 very flaky and you want to use another.
750 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
751 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
755 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
756 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
757 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
758 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
761 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
762 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
763 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
764 functions more than absolutely necessary.
766 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
767 @findex gnus-change-server
768 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
769 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
770 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
771 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
772 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
774 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
775 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
776 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
777 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
778 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
780 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
781 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
782 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
783 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
784 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
785 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
789 @section Startup Files
790 @cindex startup files
795 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
796 information is traditionally stored in this file.
798 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
799 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
800 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
801 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
802 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
803 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
804 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
806 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
807 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
808 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
809 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
811 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
812 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
813 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
814 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
815 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
816 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
818 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
819 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
820 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
821 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
822 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
823 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
824 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
825 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
826 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
827 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
828 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
829 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
831 @vindex gnus-startup-file
832 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
833 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
834 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
836 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
837 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
838 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
839 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
840 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
841 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
842 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
843 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
844 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
845 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
848 (defun turn-off-backup ()
849 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
851 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
852 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
855 @vindex gnus-init-file
856 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
857 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
858 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
859 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
860 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
861 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
862 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
863 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
864 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
873 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
874 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
875 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
876 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
877 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
880 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
881 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
884 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
885 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
886 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
888 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
889 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
890 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
891 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
892 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
893 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
896 @node The Active File
897 @section The Active File
899 @cindex ignored groups
901 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
902 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
903 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
905 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
906 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
907 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
908 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
909 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
910 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
911 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
914 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
915 @c if you set it to anything else.
917 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
919 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
920 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
921 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
923 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
924 you actually subscribe to.
926 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
927 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
928 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
929 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
931 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
932 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
933 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
934 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
935 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
936 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
938 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
939 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
940 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
941 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
942 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
943 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
945 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
946 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
948 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
949 secondary select methods.
952 @node Startup Variables
953 @section Startup Variables
958 @vindex gnus-load-hook
959 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
960 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
961 times you start Gnus.
963 @item gnus-startup-hook
964 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
965 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
967 @item gnus-started-hook
968 @vindex gnus-started-hook
969 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
972 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
973 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
974 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
975 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
976 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
977 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
978 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
979 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
981 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
982 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
983 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
984 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
985 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
986 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
988 @item gnus-no-groups-message
989 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
990 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
992 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
993 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
994 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
996 @item gnus-startup-jingle
997 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
998 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
999 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1004 @node The Group Buffer
1005 @chapter The Group Buffer
1006 @cindex group buffer
1008 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1009 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1010 long as Gnus is active.
1013 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1014 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1015 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1016 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1017 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1018 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1019 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1020 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1021 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1022 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1023 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1024 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1025 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1026 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1027 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1028 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1029 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1033 @node Group Buffer Format
1034 @section Group Buffer Format
1037 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1038 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1039 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1043 @node Group Line Specification
1044 @subsection Group Line Specification
1045 @cindex group buffer format
1047 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1048 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1050 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1053 25: news.announce.newusers
1054 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1059 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1060 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1061 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1062 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
1064 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1065 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1066 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1067 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1068 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1069 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1071 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1073 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1074 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1075 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1076 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1079 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1080 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1081 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1083 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1088 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1091 Whether the group is subscribed.
1094 Level of subscribedness.
1097 Number of unread articles.
1100 Number of dormant articles.
1103 Number of ticked articles.
1106 Number of read articles.
1109 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1110 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1113 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1116 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1125 Newsgroup description.
1128 @samp{m} if moderated.
1131 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1140 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1144 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1147 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1148 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1149 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1150 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1151 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1154 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1156 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1160 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1164 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1165 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1166 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1167 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1168 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1169 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1174 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1175 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1176 group, or a bogus native group.
1179 @node Group Modeline Specification
1180 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1181 @cindex group modeline
1183 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1184 The mode line can be changed by setting
1185 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1186 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1190 The native news server.
1192 The native select method.
1196 @node Group Highlighting
1197 @subsection Group Highlighting
1198 @cindex highlighting
1199 @cindex group highlighting
1201 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1202 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1203 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1204 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1205 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1207 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1211 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1213 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1214 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1215 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1217 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1219 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1221 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
1224 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1231 The number of unread articles in the group.
1235 Whether the group is a mail group.
1237 The level of the group.
1239 The score of the group.
1241 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1243 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1246 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1247 topic being inserted.
1250 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1251 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1252 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1254 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1255 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1256 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1257 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1258 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1261 @node Group Maneuvering
1262 @section Group Maneuvering
1263 @cindex group movement
1265 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1266 expected, hopefully.
1272 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1273 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1274 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1280 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1281 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1282 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1286 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1287 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1291 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1292 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1296 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1297 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1298 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1302 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1303 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1304 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1307 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1313 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1314 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1315 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1320 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1321 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1322 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1326 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1327 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1328 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1331 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1332 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1333 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1334 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1338 @node Selecting a Group
1339 @section Selecting a Group
1340 @cindex group selection
1345 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1346 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1347 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1348 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1349 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1350 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1351 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1352 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1353 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1354 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1358 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1359 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1360 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1361 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1362 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1366 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1367 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1368 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1369 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1370 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1371 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1372 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1373 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
1374 This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
1378 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1379 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1380 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1381 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1382 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1385 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1386 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1387 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1388 doing any processing of its contents
1389 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1390 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1391 manner will have no permanent effects.
1395 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1396 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1397 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1398 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1399 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1400 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1401 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1402 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1405 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1406 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1407 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1408 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1413 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1414 full summary buffer.
1417 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1420 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1424 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1425 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1426 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1430 @node Subscription Commands
1431 @section Subscription Commands
1432 @cindex subscription
1440 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1441 Toggle subscription to the current group
1442 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1448 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1449 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1450 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1451 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1457 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1458 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1464 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1465 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1468 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1469 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1470 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1471 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1472 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1478 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1479 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1483 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1484 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1487 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1488 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1489 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1490 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1491 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1492 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1493 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1494 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1495 @file{.newsrc} file.
1499 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1509 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1510 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1511 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1512 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1513 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1518 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1519 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1520 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1524 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1525 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1526 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1528 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1529 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1530 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1531 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1532 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1533 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1540 @section Group Levels
1544 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1545 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1546 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1547 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1548 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1550 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1556 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1557 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1558 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1559 prompted for a level.
1562 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1563 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1564 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1565 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1566 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1567 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1568 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1569 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1570 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1571 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1572 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1573 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1574 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1575 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1576 for reasons of efficiency.
1578 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1579 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1581 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1582 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1583 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1585 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1586 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1587 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1588 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1589 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1590 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1591 relevant legal ranges.
1593 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1594 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1595 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1596 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1597 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1598 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1601 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1602 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1603 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1606 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1607 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1608 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1609 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1612 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1613 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1614 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1615 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1617 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1618 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1619 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1620 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1621 5. The default is 6.
1625 @section Group Score
1628 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1629 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1630 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1633 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1634 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1635 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1636 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1637 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1638 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1639 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1641 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1642 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1643 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1644 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1645 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1646 action after each summary exit, you can add
1647 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1648 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1649 slow things down somewhat.
1652 @node Marking Groups
1653 @section Marking Groups
1654 @cindex marking groups
1656 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1657 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1658 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1659 bidding on those groups.
1661 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1662 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1663 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1671 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1672 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1678 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1679 Remove the mark from the current group
1680 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1684 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1685 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1689 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1690 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1694 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1695 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1699 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1700 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1701 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1704 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1706 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1707 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1708 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1709 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1710 the command to be executed.
1713 @node Foreign Groups
1714 @section Foreign Groups
1715 @cindex foreign groups
1717 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1718 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1719 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1720 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1727 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1728 @cindex making groups
1729 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1730 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1731 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1735 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1736 @cindex renaming groups
1737 Rename the current group to something else
1738 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1739 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1745 @findex gnus-group-customize
1746 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1750 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1751 @cindex renaming groups
1752 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1753 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1757 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1758 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1759 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1763 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1764 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1765 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1769 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1771 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1772 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1777 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1778 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1782 @cindex (ding) archive
1783 @cindex archive group
1784 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1785 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1786 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1787 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1788 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1789 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1790 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1794 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1796 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1797 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1798 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1799 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1803 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1805 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1806 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1807 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1811 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1812 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1814 Make a group based on some file or other
1815 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1816 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1817 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1818 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1819 @code{rfc934} and @code{forward}. If you run this command without a
1820 prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1824 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1829 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1830 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1831 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1832 search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
1833 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1834 @xref{Web Searches}.
1837 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1838 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1839 This function will delete the current group
1840 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1841 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1842 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1843 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1847 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1848 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1849 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1853 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1854 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1855 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1858 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1861 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1862 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1863 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1864 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1865 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1868 @node Group Parameters
1869 @section Group Parameters
1870 @cindex group parameters
1872 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1877 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1878 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1879 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1880 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1881 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1882 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1883 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1884 copies of your followups.
1886 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1887 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1888 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1889 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1890 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1891 list address instead.
1895 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1896 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1897 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1898 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1899 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1901 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
1902 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
1903 sending the message.
1905 @item broken-reply-to
1906 @cindex broken-reply-to
1907 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1908 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1909 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1910 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1911 broken behavior. So there!
1915 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
1916 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
1920 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
1921 all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
1922 useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
1926 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
1927 @code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
1928 group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
1929 will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
1930 inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
1931 any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
1935 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
1936 . t)}, , all articles that are read will be marked as expirable. For an
1937 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1940 @cindex total-expire
1941 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
1942 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
1943 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1948 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1949 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1950 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1951 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1952 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1953 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1956 @cindex score file group parameter
1957 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1958 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1959 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1962 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1963 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1964 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1965 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1968 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1969 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1970 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1971 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1974 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
1975 display on entering the group. Legal values are:
1979 Display all articles, both read and unread.
1982 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
1987 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
1988 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
1989 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
1992 @item @var{(variable form)}
1993 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1994 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
1995 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
1996 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
1997 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
1998 @code{eval}ed there.
2000 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2001 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2002 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2003 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2004 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2008 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
2010 Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
2012 Here's an example group parameter list:
2015 ((to-address . "ding@@ifi.uio.no")
2020 @node Listing Groups
2021 @section Listing Groups
2022 @cindex group listing
2024 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
2032 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2033 List all groups that have unread articles
2034 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2035 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2036 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2037 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2044 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2045 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2046 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2047 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2048 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2049 unsubscribed groups).
2053 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2054 List all unread groups on a specific level
2055 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2056 with no unread articles.
2060 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2061 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2062 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2063 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2068 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2069 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2073 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2074 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2075 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2079 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2080 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2084 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2085 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
2086 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2087 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2088 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2089 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
2090 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
2091 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2095 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2096 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2097 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2101 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2102 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2103 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2107 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2108 @cindex visible group parameter
2109 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2110 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2111 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2112 get the same effect.
2114 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2115 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2116 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2117 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2118 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2121 @node Sorting Groups
2122 @section Sorting Groups
2123 @cindex sorting groups
2125 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2126 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2127 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2128 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2129 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2130 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2135 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2136 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2137 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2141 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2145 Sort by group level.
2147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2149 Sort by group score.
2151 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2152 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2153 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2154 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
2156 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2157 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2158 Sort by number of unread articles.
2160 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2161 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2162 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2167 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2168 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2172 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2173 some sorting criteria:
2177 @kindex G S a (Group)
2178 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2179 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2180 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2183 @kindex G S u (Group)
2184 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2185 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2186 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2189 @kindex G S l (Group)
2190 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2191 Sort the group buffer by group level
2192 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2195 @kindex G S v (Group)
2196 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2197 Sort the group buffer by group score
2198 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2201 @kindex G S r (Group)
2202 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2203 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2204 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2207 @kindex G S m (Group)
2208 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2209 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2210 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2214 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2216 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2220 @kindex G P a (Group)
2221 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2222 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2223 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2226 @kindex G P u (Group)
2227 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2228 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2229 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2232 @kindex G P l (Group)
2233 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2234 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2235 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2238 @kindex G P v (Group)
2239 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2240 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2241 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
2244 @kindex G P r (Group)
2245 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2246 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2247 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
2250 @kindex G P m (Group)
2251 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2252 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2253 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2259 @node Group Maintenance
2260 @section Group Maintenance
2261 @cindex bogus groups
2266 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2267 Find bogus groups and delete them
2268 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2272 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2273 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2274 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2278 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2279 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2280 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2281 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2284 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2285 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2286 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2287 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2292 @node Browse Foreign Server
2293 @section Browse Foreign Server
2294 @cindex foreign servers
2295 @cindex browsing servers
2300 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2301 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2302 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2303 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2306 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2307 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2308 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2309 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2311 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2316 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2317 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2321 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2322 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2325 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2326 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2327 Enter the current group and display the first article
2328 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2331 @kindex RET (Browse)
2332 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2333 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2337 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2338 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2339 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2345 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2346 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2350 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2351 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2352 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2357 @section Exiting Gnus
2358 @cindex exiting Gnus
2360 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2365 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2366 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2367 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2368 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2372 @findex gnus-group-exit
2373 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2377 @findex gnus-group-quit
2378 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2379 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2382 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2383 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2384 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2385 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2386 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2391 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2392 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2393 trying to customize meta-variables.
2398 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2399 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2400 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2406 @section Group Topics
2409 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2410 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2411 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2412 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2413 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2414 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2422 2: alt.religion.emacs
2425 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2427 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2428 13: comp.sources.unix
2431 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2433 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2434 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2435 is a toggling command.)
2437 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2438 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2439 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2440 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2443 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2444 the hook for the group mode:
2447 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2451 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2452 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2453 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2454 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2455 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2459 @node Topic Variables
2460 @subsection Topic Variables
2461 @cindex topic variables
2463 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2464 really neat, I think.
2466 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2467 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2468 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2481 Number of groups in the topic.
2483 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2485 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2488 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2489 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2490 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2493 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2494 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2496 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2497 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2498 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2501 @node Topic Commands
2502 @subsection Topic Commands
2503 @cindex topic commands
2505 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2506 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2507 definitions slightly.
2513 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2514 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2515 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2519 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2520 Move the current group to some other topic
2521 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2522 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2526 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2527 Copy the current group to some other topic
2528 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2529 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2533 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2534 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2535 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2536 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2540 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2541 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2542 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2546 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2547 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2548 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2552 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2553 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2554 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2557 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2558 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2559 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2560 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2564 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2566 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2567 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2568 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2569 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2570 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2571 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2574 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2575 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2576 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2577 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2578 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2582 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2583 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2584 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2588 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2589 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2590 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2595 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2596 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2599 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2600 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2601 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2605 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2606 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2607 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2611 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2612 @cindex group parameters
2613 @cindex topic parameters
2615 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2616 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2622 @subsection Topic Sorting
2623 @cindex topic sorting
2625 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2631 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2632 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2633 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2634 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2637 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2638 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2639 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2640 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2643 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2644 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2645 Sort the current topic by group level
2646 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2649 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2650 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2651 Sort the current topic by group score
2652 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
2655 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2656 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2657 Sort the current topic by group rank
2658 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2661 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2662 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2663 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2664 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2668 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2671 @node Topic Topology
2672 @subsection Topic Topology
2673 @cindex topic topology
2676 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2682 2: alt.religion.emacs
2685 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2687 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2688 13: comp.sources.unix
2691 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2692 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2693 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2698 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2699 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2703 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2704 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2705 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2706 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2707 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2708 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2710 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2711 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2712 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2715 @node Topic Parameters
2716 @subsection Topic Parameters
2717 @cindex topic parameters
2719 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2720 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2721 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2723 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2724 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2725 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2726 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2732 2: alt.religion.emacs
2736 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2738 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2739 13: comp.sources.unix
2743 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2744 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2745 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2746 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2747 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2748 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2750 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2751 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2752 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2753 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2754 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2756 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2757 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2758 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2759 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2760 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2761 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2762 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2763 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2766 @node Misc Group Stuff
2767 @section Misc Group Stuff
2770 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2771 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2772 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2773 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2780 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2781 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2782 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2786 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2787 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2788 group name will be used as the default.
2792 @findex gnus-group-mail
2793 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2797 Variables for the group buffer:
2801 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2802 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2803 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2806 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2807 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2808 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2809 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2812 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2813 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2814 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2815 whether they are empty or not.
2820 @node Scanning New Messages
2821 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2822 @cindex new messages
2823 @cindex scanning new news
2829 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2830 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2831 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2832 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2833 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2838 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2839 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2840 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2841 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2842 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2843 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2845 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2846 @cindex activating groups
2848 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2849 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2854 @findex gnus-group-restart
2855 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2856 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2857 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2861 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2862 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2864 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2865 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2869 @node Group Information
2870 @subsection Group Information
2871 @cindex group information
2872 @cindex information on groups
2879 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2880 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
2883 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2884 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2885 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2886 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
2887 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
2888 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
2889 for fetching the file.
2891 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
2892 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
2897 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
2898 @cindex describing groups
2899 @cindex group description
2900 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2901 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2902 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2906 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2907 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2908 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2913 @findex gnus-version
2914 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2918 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2919 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2922 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2925 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2926 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2930 @node Group Timestamp
2931 @subsection Group Timestamp
2933 @cindex group timestamps
2935 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
2936 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
2937 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
2940 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
2943 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
2945 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
2946 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
2949 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2950 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
2953 This will result in lines looking like:
2956 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
2957 0: custom 19961002T012713
2960 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
2961 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
2965 (setq gnus-group-line-format
2966 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
2971 @subsection File Commands
2972 @cindex file commands
2978 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2979 @vindex gnus-init-file
2980 @cindex reading init file
2981 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2982 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2986 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2987 @cindex saving .newsrc
2988 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2989 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2990 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2993 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2994 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2995 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3000 @node The Summary Buffer
3001 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3002 @cindex summary buffer
3004 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3005 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3007 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3008 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3010 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3013 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3014 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3015 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3016 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3017 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3018 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3019 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3020 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3021 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3022 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3023 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3024 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3025 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3026 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3027 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3028 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3029 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3030 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3031 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3032 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3033 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3034 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3035 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3036 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3037 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3038 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3039 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3043 @node Summary Buffer Format
3044 @section Summary Buffer Format
3045 @cindex summary buffer format
3048 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3049 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3050 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3053 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3054 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3055 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3056 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3057 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3058 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
3059 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3060 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3061 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3062 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3063 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3065 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3066 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3067 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3068 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
3071 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3072 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3074 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3075 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3076 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3077 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3078 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3080 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3082 The following format specification characters are understood:
3090 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
3091 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3092 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
3094 Full @code{From} header.
3096 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3098 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3099 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3100 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3101 may be more thorough.
3103 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3106 Number of lines in the article.
3108 Number of characters in the article.
3110 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3112 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3113 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3115 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3116 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3118 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3119 for adopted articles.
3121 One space for each thread level.
3123 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3131 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3132 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3133 default level. If the difference between
3134 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3135 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3143 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3145 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
3151 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3152 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3154 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3155 article has any children.
3159 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3160 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
3161 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3162 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3163 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3164 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3167 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3168 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3169 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3170 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
3171 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3172 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3174 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3175 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3177 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3180 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3181 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3183 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3184 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3185 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3186 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3188 Here are the elements you can play with:
3194 Unprefixed group name.
3196 Current article number.
3200 Number of unread articles in this group.
3202 Number of unselected articles in this group.
3204 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3205 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3206 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3207 and no unselected ones.
3209 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3210 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3212 Subject of the current article.
3216 Name of the current score file.
3218 Number of dormant articles.
3220 Number of ticked articles.
3222 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3224 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3228 @node Summary Highlighting
3229 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3233 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3234 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3235 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3236 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3237 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3239 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3240 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3241 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3242 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3244 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3245 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3246 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
3247 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3249 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3250 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3251 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3252 list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3253 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3254 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3256 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3257 ((> score default) . bold))
3259 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3260 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3264 @node Summary Maneuvering
3265 @section Summary Maneuvering
3266 @cindex summary movement
3268 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3269 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3271 None of these commands select articles.
3276 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3277 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3278 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3279 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3280 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3284 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3285 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3286 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3287 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3288 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3293 @kindex G j (Summary)
3294 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3295 Ask for an article number and then go to that article
3296 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3299 @kindex G g (Summary)
3300 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3301 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
3302 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3305 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3306 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3307 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3308 to the group buffer.
3310 Variables related to summary movement:
3314 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3315 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3316 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3317 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3318 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3319 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3320 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3321 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3322 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3323 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3324 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3325 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3326 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3327 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3329 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3330 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3331 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3332 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3333 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3334 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3335 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3337 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3338 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3339 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3340 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3341 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3343 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3344 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3345 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3346 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3347 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3348 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3349 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3350 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3356 @node Choosing Articles
3357 @section Choosing Articles
3358 @cindex selecting articles
3361 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3362 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3366 @node Choosing Commands
3367 @subsection Choosing Commands
3369 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3370 and they all select and display an article.
3374 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3375 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3376 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3377 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3382 @kindex G n (Summary)
3383 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3384 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3389 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3390 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3395 @kindex G N (Summary)
3396 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3397 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3402 @kindex G P (Summary)
3403 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3404 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3407 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3408 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3409 Go to the next article with the same subject
3410 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3413 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3414 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3415 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3416 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3420 @kindex G f (Summary)
3422 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3423 Go to the first unread article
3424 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3428 @kindex G b (Summary)
3430 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3431 Go to the article with the highest score
3432 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3437 @kindex G l (Summary)
3438 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3439 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3442 @kindex G p (Summary)
3443 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3444 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3445 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3446 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3447 history as you like.
3451 @node Choosing Variables
3452 @subsection Choosing Variables
3454 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3457 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3458 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3459 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3460 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3461 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3462 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3464 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3465 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3466 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3467 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3469 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3470 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3471 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3472 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3473 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3474 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3475 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3476 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3477 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3478 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3479 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3480 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3481 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3482 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3487 @node Paging the Article
3488 @section Scrolling the Article
3489 @cindex article scrolling
3494 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3495 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3496 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3497 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3498 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3501 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3502 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3503 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3506 @kindex RET (Summary)
3507 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3508 Scroll the current article one line forward
3509 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3513 @kindex A g (Summary)
3515 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3516 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3517 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3518 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3519 the way it came from the server.
3524 @kindex A < (Summary)
3525 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3526 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3527 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3532 @kindex A > (Summary)
3533 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3534 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3538 @kindex A s (Summary)
3540 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3541 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3542 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3547 @node Reply Followup and Post
3548 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3551 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3552 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3556 @node Summary Mail Commands
3557 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3559 @cindex composing mail
3561 Commands for composing a mail message:
3567 @kindex S r (Summary)
3569 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3570 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3571 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3576 @kindex S R (Summary)
3577 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3578 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3579 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3580 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3583 @kindex S w (Summary)
3584 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3585 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3586 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}).
3589 @kindex S W (Summary)
3590 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3591 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3592 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3593 the process/prefix convention.
3596 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3597 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3598 Forward the current article to some other person
3599 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3600 headers of the forwarded article.
3605 @kindex S m (Summary)
3606 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3607 Send a mail to some other person
3608 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3611 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3612 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3613 @cindex bouncing mail
3614 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3615 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3616 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3617 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3618 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3619 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3620 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3621 very well fail, though.
3624 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3625 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3626 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3627 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3628 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3629 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3630 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3631 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3632 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3633 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3635 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3636 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3637 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3638 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3639 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3641 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3642 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3645 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3646 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3647 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3648 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3649 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3652 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3653 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3654 @cindex crossposting
3655 @cindex excessive crossposting
3656 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3657 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3659 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3660 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3661 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3662 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3663 command understands the process/prefix convention
3664 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3669 @node Summary Post Commands
3670 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3672 @cindex composing news
3674 Commands for posting a news article:
3680 @kindex S p (Summary)
3681 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3682 Post an article to the current group
3683 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3688 @kindex S f (Summary)
3689 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3690 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3694 @kindex S F (Summary)
3696 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3697 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3698 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3699 process/prefix convention.
3702 @kindex S n (Summary)
3703 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3704 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3705 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3708 @kindex S n (Summary)
3709 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3710 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3711 message through mail and include the original message
3712 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3713 the process/prefix convention.
3716 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3717 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3718 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3719 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3720 headers of the forwarded article.
3723 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3724 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3725 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3726 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3729 @kindex S u (Summary)
3730 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3731 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3732 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3736 @node Canceling and Superseding
3737 @section Canceling Articles
3738 @cindex canceling articles
3739 @cindex superseding articles
3741 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3742 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3744 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3746 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3748 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3749 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3750 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3751 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3753 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3754 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3757 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3758 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3759 your original article.
3761 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3763 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3764 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3765 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3768 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3769 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3770 have posted almost the same article twice.
3772 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3773 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3774 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3775 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3776 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3777 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3778 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3779 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3780 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3781 canceled/superseded.
3783 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3786 @node Marking Articles
3787 @section Marking Articles
3788 @cindex article marking
3789 @cindex article ticking
3792 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3794 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3795 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3796 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3798 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3801 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3802 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3803 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3807 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3811 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3812 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3816 @node Unread Articles
3817 @subsection Unread Articles
3819 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
3824 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3825 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
3827 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3828 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3829 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3830 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3831 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
3835 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3836 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
3838 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
3839 are followups to it.
3842 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3843 Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
3845 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
3850 @subsection Read Articles
3851 @cindex expirable mark
3853 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3858 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3859 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
3860 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
3863 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3864 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3867 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3868 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
3869 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3872 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3873 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3876 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3877 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3880 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3881 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3884 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3885 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3888 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3889 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3892 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3893 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
3896 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3897 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3901 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3902 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3903 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
3907 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3908 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
3910 One more special mark, though:
3914 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3915 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3917 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
3918 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
3919 control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
3920 articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
3926 @subsection Other Marks
3927 @cindex process mark
3930 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3936 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3937 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3938 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3939 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3940 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
3943 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3944 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3945 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3946 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3949 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3950 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3951 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3954 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3955 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3956 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3957 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3960 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3961 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3962 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3963 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3964 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3967 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3968 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3969 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3970 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3971 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3972 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3976 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3977 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3978 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3980 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3981 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3982 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3986 @subsection Setting Marks
3987 @cindex setting marks
3989 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3995 @kindex M t (Summary)
3996 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3997 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4002 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4003 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4004 Mark the current article as dormant
4005 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
4009 @kindex M d (Summary)
4011 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4012 Mark the current article as read
4013 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4017 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4018 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4019 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4024 @kindex M k (Summary)
4025 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4026 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4027 and then select the next unread article
4028 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4032 @kindex M K (Summary)
4033 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4034 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4035 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4036 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4039 @kindex M C (Summary)
4040 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4041 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4044 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4045 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4046 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4047 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4050 @kindex M H (Summary)
4051 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4052 Catchup the current group to point
4053 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4056 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4057 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4058 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4059 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4062 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4063 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4064 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4065 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4069 @kindex M c (Summary)
4070 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4071 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4072 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4073 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
4077 @kindex M e (Summary)
4079 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4080 Mark the current article as expirable
4081 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4084 @kindex M b (Summary)
4085 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4086 Set a bookmark in the current article
4087 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4090 @kindex M B (Summary)
4091 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4092 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4093 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4096 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4097 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4098 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4099 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4102 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4103 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4104 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4105 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4108 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4109 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4110 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4111 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4112 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4115 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4116 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4117 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4118 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4119 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4120 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4121 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4122 The default is @code{t}.
4125 @node Setting Process Marks
4126 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4127 @cindex setting process marks
4134 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4135 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4136 Mark the current article with the process mark
4137 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4138 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4142 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4143 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4144 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4145 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4148 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4149 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4150 Remove the process mark from all articles
4151 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4154 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4155 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4156 Invert the list of process marked articles
4157 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4160 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4161 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4162 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4165 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4166 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4167 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4170 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4171 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4172 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4173 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4176 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4177 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4178 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4179 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4182 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4183 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4184 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4185 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4188 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4189 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4190 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4193 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4194 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4195 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4196 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4199 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4200 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4201 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4204 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4205 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4206 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4207 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4210 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4211 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4212 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4213 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4216 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4217 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4218 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4219 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4222 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4223 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4224 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4225 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4234 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4235 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4236 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4243 @kindex / / (Summary)
4244 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4245 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4246 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4249 @kindex / a (Summary)
4250 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4251 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4252 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4256 @kindex / u (Summary)
4258 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4259 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
4260 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4261 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4262 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4265 @kindex / m (Summary)
4266 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4267 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
4268 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4271 @kindex / t (Summary)
4272 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4273 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles that are
4274 older than (or equal to) that number of days
4275 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4276 articles that are younger than that number of days.
4279 @kindex / n (Summary)
4280 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4281 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4282 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4283 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4286 @kindex / w (Summary)
4287 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4288 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4289 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4293 @kindex / v (Summary)
4294 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4295 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4296 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4300 @kindex M S (Summary)
4301 @kindex / E (Summary)
4302 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4303 Display all expunged articles
4304 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4307 @kindex / D (Summary)
4308 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4309 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4312 @kindex / d (Summary)
4313 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4314 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4317 @kindex / c (Summary)
4318 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4319 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
4320 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4323 @kindex / C (Summary)
4324 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4325 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4326 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4327 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4335 @cindex article threading
4337 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4338 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4339 hierarchical fashion.
4342 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4343 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4347 @node Customizing Threading
4348 @subsection Customizing Threading
4349 @cindex customizing threading
4355 @item gnus-show-threads
4356 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4357 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4358 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4359 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4360 slower and more awkward.
4362 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4363 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4364 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4365 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
4366 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4367 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4368 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4369 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4370 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4371 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4372 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4373 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4375 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4376 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4377 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4378 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4379 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4380 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
4381 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4382 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4383 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4384 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4385 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4386 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4387 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4388 @code{nil} by default.
4390 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4391 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4392 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4393 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4394 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4395 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4396 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
4397 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4398 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4399 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4400 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4402 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4403 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4404 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4407 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4408 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4409 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4410 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4411 simplification is used.
4413 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4414 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4415 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4416 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4418 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4420 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4426 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4427 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4428 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4429 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4434 (mapconcat 'identity
4435 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4437 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4440 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4443 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4444 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4445 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4446 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4447 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4448 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4449 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4450 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4452 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4453 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4454 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4455 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4456 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4457 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4458 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4459 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4460 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4464 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4465 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4466 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4467 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4469 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4470 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4471 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4474 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4478 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4479 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4482 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4483 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4484 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4485 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4486 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4487 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4489 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4490 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4491 There are four possible values:
4493 @cindex adopting articles
4498 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4499 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4500 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4501 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4504 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4505 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4506 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4507 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4508 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4509 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4510 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4513 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4514 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4515 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4519 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4520 display them after one another.
4523 Don't gather loose threads.
4526 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4527 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4528 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4531 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4532 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4533 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4534 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4535 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4536 threads are expunged.
4538 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4539 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4540 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4543 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4544 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4545 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4546 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4547 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4550 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4551 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4552 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4555 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4556 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4557 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4558 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4559 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4560 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4565 @node Thread Commands
4566 @subsection Thread Commands
4567 @cindex thread commands
4573 @kindex T k (Summary)
4574 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4575 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4576 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4577 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4578 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4583 @kindex T l (Summary)
4584 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4585 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4586 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4587 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4590 @kindex T i (Summary)
4591 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4592 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4593 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4596 @kindex T # (Summary)
4597 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4598 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4599 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4602 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4603 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4604 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4605 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4608 @kindex T T (Summary)
4609 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4610 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4613 @kindex T s (Summary)
4614 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4615 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4616 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4619 @kindex T h (Summary)
4620 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4621 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4624 @kindex T S (Summary)
4625 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4626 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4629 @kindex T H (Summary)
4630 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4631 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4634 @kindex T t (Summary)
4635 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4636 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4637 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4638 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4641 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4642 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4643 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4644 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4648 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4649 understand the numeric prefix.
4654 @kindex T n (Summary)
4655 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4656 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4659 @kindex T p (Summary)
4660 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4661 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4664 @kindex T d (Summary)
4665 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4666 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4669 @kindex T u (Summary)
4670 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4671 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4674 @kindex T o (Summary)
4675 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4676 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4679 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4680 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4681 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4682 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4683 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4684 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4685 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4686 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4687 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4688 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4689 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4690 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
4697 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4698 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4699 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4700 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4701 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4702 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4703 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4704 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4705 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4706 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4707 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4708 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4709 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4710 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4712 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4713 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4714 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4715 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4716 in the list. You should probably always include
4717 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4718 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4719 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4720 ascending article order.
4722 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4723 number, you could do something like:
4726 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4727 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4728 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4729 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4732 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4733 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4734 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4735 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4736 which the articles arrived.
4738 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4742 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4744 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4745 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4748 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4749 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4750 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4751 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4754 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4755 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4756 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4757 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4758 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4759 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4760 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4761 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4762 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4763 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4764 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4765 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4766 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4768 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4772 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4773 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4774 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4779 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4780 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4781 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4782 @cindex article pre-fetch
4785 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4786 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4787 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4788 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4789 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4791 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4792 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4794 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4795 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4796 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4797 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4798 connection is blocked.
4800 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4801 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4802 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4803 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4805 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4806 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4807 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4808 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4811 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4814 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4815 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4816 happen automatically.
4818 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
4819 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4820 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
4821 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
4822 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
4823 pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
4824 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
4826 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
4827 @findex gnus-async-read-p
4828 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
4829 articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
4830 the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
4831 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
4832 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
4833 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
4834 data structure as the only parameter.
4836 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
4837 shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
4840 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
4841 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
4842 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
4843 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
4846 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
4849 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
4850 preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
4851 It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
4853 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
4854 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
4855 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
4856 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
4860 Remove articles when they are read.
4863 Remove articles when exiting the group.
4866 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
4868 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
4869 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
4870 from the next group.
4873 @node Article Caching
4874 @section Article Caching
4875 @cindex article caching
4878 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4879 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4880 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4881 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4882 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4884 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4886 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4887 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4888 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4889 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4890 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4891 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4892 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4893 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4895 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4896 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4897 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4898 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4899 as dormant, and don't worry.
4901 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4903 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4904 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4905 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4906 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4907 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4908 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4909 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4910 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4911 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4912 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4914 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4915 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4916 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4917 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4918 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4919 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4920 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4922 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4923 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4924 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4925 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4926 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4927 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4928 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4931 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4932 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4933 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4934 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4935 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4936 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4937 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4938 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4939 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4943 @node Persistent Articles
4944 @section Persistent Articles
4945 @cindex persistent articles
4947 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4948 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4949 useful in my opinion.
4951 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4952 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4953 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4954 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4955 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4956 the expiry going on at the news server.
4958 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4959 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4960 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4966 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4967 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4970 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4972 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4973 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4977 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4979 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4980 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4981 interested in persistent articles:
4984 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4988 @node Article Backlog
4989 @section Article Backlog
4991 @cindex article backlog
4993 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4994 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4995 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4996 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4997 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4998 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4999 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5000 increase memory usage some.
5002 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5003 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5004 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5005 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5006 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5007 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5008 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5010 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5013 @node Saving Articles
5014 @section Saving Articles
5015 @cindex saving articles
5017 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5018 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5019 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5020 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5021 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5023 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5024 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5025 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5027 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5028 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5029 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5030 deleted before saving.
5036 @kindex O o (Summary)
5038 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5039 Save the current article using the default article saver
5040 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5043 @kindex O m (Summary)
5044 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5045 Save the current article in mail format
5046 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5049 @kindex O r (Summary)
5050 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5051 Save the current article in rmail format
5052 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5055 @kindex O f (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5057 Save the current article in plain file format
5058 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5061 @kindex O F (Summary)
5062 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5063 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5064 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5067 @kindex O b (Summary)
5068 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5069 Save the current article body in plain file format
5070 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5073 @kindex O h (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5075 Save the current article in mh folder format
5076 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5079 @kindex O v (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5081 Save the current article in a VM folder
5082 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5085 @kindex O p (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5087 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5088 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5091 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5092 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5093 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5094 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5095 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5096 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5097 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5098 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5099 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5100 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5101 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5102 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5106 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5107 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5108 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5109 functions below, or you can create your own.
5113 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5114 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5115 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5116 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5117 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5118 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5119 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5121 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5122 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5123 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5124 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5125 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5126 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5128 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5129 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5130 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5131 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5132 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5133 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5134 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5136 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5137 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5138 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5139 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5140 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5142 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5143 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5144 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5145 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5146 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5149 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5150 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5151 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5152 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5153 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
5154 the latter does not.
5156 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5157 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5158 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5159 reader to use this setting.
5162 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5163 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5164 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5165 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5168 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5169 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5170 available functions that generate names:
5174 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5175 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5176 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5178 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5179 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5180 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5182 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5183 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5184 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5186 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5187 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5188 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5191 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5192 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5193 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5194 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5195 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5199 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5200 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5201 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5202 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5205 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5206 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5207 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5208 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5209 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5210 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5211 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5212 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5213 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5215 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5216 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5217 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5218 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5220 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5221 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5222 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5225 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5226 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5227 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5228 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5229 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5230 all the files in the toplevel directory
5231 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5232 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5233 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5234 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5236 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5237 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5238 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5239 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5240 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5243 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5247 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5248 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5251 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5252 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5253 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5254 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5257 @node Decoding Articles
5258 @section Decoding Articles
5259 @cindex decoding articles
5261 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5262 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5265 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5266 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
5267 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5268 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5269 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5272 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5273 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5274 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5275 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5276 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5278 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5279 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5280 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5282 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5283 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5284 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5286 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5287 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5288 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5291 @node Uuencoded Articles
5292 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5294 @cindex uuencoded articles
5299 @kindex X u (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5301 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5304 @kindex X U (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5306 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5307 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5310 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5312 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5315 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5317 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5318 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5321 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5322 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5323 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5324 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5325 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5327 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5328 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5329 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5330 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5333 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5334 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5335 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5336 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5337 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5338 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5342 @node Shared Articles
5343 @subsection Shared Articles
5345 @cindex shared articles
5350 @kindex X s (Summary)
5351 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5352 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5355 @kindex X S (Summary)
5356 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5357 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5360 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5361 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5362 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5365 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5366 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5367 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5368 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5372 @node PostScript Files
5373 @subsection PostScript Files
5379 @kindex X p (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5381 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5384 @kindex X P (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5386 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5387 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5390 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5392 View the current PostScript series
5393 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5396 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5397 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5398 View and save the current PostScript series
5399 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5403 @node Decoding Variables
5404 @subsection Decoding Variables
5406 Adjective, not verb.
5409 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5410 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5411 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5415 @node Rule Variables
5416 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5417 @cindex rule variables
5419 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5420 variables are on the form
5423 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5430 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5431 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5433 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5434 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5437 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5438 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5441 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5442 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5443 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5444 user and default view rules.
5446 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5447 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5448 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5453 @node Other Decode Variables
5454 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5457 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5459 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5460 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
5461 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5462 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5463 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5467 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5468 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5471 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5472 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5473 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5476 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5477 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5478 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5479 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5480 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5483 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5484 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5485 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5487 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5488 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5489 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5490 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5491 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5494 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5495 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5496 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5498 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5499 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5500 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5501 looking for files to display.
5503 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5504 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5505 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5508 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5509 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5510 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5513 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5514 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5515 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5518 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5519 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5520 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5523 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5524 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5525 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5526 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5528 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5529 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5530 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5531 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5533 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5534 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5536 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5537 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5538 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5539 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5541 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5542 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5543 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5544 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5545 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5546 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5547 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5548 simply dropped them.
5553 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5554 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5558 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5559 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5560 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5561 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5562 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5563 for you when you post the article.
5565 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5566 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5567 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5568 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5570 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5571 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5572 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5573 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5574 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5575 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5576 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5578 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5579 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5580 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5581 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5582 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5583 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5584 Default is @code{t}.
5590 @subsection Viewing Files
5591 @cindex viewing files
5592 @cindex pseudo-articles
5594 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5595 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5596 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5597 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5598 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5599 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5600 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5602 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5603 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5604 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5605 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5607 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5608 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5609 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5611 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5612 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5613 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5614 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5615 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5617 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5618 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5619 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5620 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5621 a list of parameters to that command.
5623 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5624 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5625 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5627 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5628 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5629 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5632 @node Article Treatment
5633 @section Article Treatment
5635 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5636 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5637 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5638 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5639 these articles easier.
5642 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5643 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
5644 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5645 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5646 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5647 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5648 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5652 @node Article Highlighting
5653 @subsection Article Highlighting
5656 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5657 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5662 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5664 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5667 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5668 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5669 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5670 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5671 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5672 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5673 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5674 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5675 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5676 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5677 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5680 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5681 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5682 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5684 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5687 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5689 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5690 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5691 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5693 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5694 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5695 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5697 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5698 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5699 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5701 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5702 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5703 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5704 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5705 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5708 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5709 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5710 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5712 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5713 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5714 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5716 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5717 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5718 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5719 that it's a citation.
5721 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5722 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5723 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5725 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5726 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5727 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5729 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5730 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5731 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5732 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5738 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5739 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5740 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5741 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5742 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5743 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5744 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5745 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5751 @node Article Fontisizing
5752 @subsection Article Fontisizing
5754 @cindex article emphasis
5756 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
5757 @kindex W e (Summary)
5758 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
5759 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
5760 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
5761 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
5763 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
5764 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
5765 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
5766 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
5767 that says what regular expression grouping used to find the entire
5768 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
5769 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
5770 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
5774 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
5775 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
5776 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
5779 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
5780 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
5781 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
5782 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
5783 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
5784 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
5785 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
5786 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
5787 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
5788 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
5789 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
5790 @code{gnus-emphasis-undeline-bold}, and
5791 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
5793 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
5794 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
5795 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
5799 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
5803 @node Article Hiding
5804 @subsection Article Hiding
5805 @cindex article hiding
5807 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5808 too much cruft in most articles.
5813 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5814 @findex gnus-article-hide
5815 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5818 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5819 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5820 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5824 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5825 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5826 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5827 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5830 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5831 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5832 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5836 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5837 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5838 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5841 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5842 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5843 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
5844 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5847 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5848 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5849 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5850 customizing the hiding:
5854 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5855 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5856 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5857 50), hide the cited text.
5859 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5860 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5861 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5864 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5865 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5866 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5867 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5868 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5873 Start point of the hidden text.
5875 End point of the hidden text.
5877 Length of the hidden text.
5880 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5881 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5882 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5887 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5888 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5889 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5890 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5891 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5892 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5896 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5897 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5898 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5900 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5901 citation customization.
5904 @node Article Washing
5905 @subsection Article Washing
5907 @cindex article washing
5909 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5910 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5912 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5913 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5919 @kindex W l (Summary)
5920 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5921 Remove page breaks from the current article
5922 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5925 @kindex W r (Summary)
5926 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5927 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5928 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5931 @kindex W t (Summary)
5932 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5933 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5934 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5937 @kindex W v (Summary)
5938 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5939 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5940 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5943 @kindex W m (Summary)
5944 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5945 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5946 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5949 @kindex W o (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5951 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5954 @kindex W w (Summary)
5955 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5956 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5957 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5958 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5960 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
5964 @kindex W c (Summary)
5965 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5966 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5969 @kindex W q (Summary)
5970 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5971 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5974 @kindex W f (Summary)
5976 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5977 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5978 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5979 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5980 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5981 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5982 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5983 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5984 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5985 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5986 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5987 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5988 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5989 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5990 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5991 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5992 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5993 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5997 @kindex W b (Summary)
5998 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5999 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6002 @kindex W B (Summary)
6003 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6004 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6005 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6008 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6010 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6011 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6014 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6015 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6016 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6017 lines with a single empty line.
6018 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6021 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6022 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6023 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6024 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6027 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6028 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6029 Do all the three commands above
6030 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6035 @node Article Buttons
6036 @subsection Article Buttons
6039 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6040 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6041 with the minimum of fuzz.
6043 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6044 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6045 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6050 @item gnus-button-alist
6051 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6052 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6055 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6061 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6062 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
6063 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6066 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
6067 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
6068 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6071 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6072 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6073 avoid false matches.
6076 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6079 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6080 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6084 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6087 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6090 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6091 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6092 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6093 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6094 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6097 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6100 @var{header} is a regular expression.
6102 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6103 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6104 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6105 default values of the variables above.
6107 @item gnus-article-button-face
6108 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6109 Face used on buttons.
6111 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6112 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6113 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6119 @subsection Article Date
6121 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6122 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6123 when the article was sent.
6128 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6129 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6130 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6131 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6134 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6135 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6136 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6139 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6140 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6141 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6142 @findex format-time-string
6143 Display the date using a user-defined format
6144 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6145 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6146 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6147 for a list possible format specs.
6150 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6151 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6152 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
6153 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
6156 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6158 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6159 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
6160 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6161 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6162 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6167 @node Article Signature
6168 @subsection Article Signature
6170 @cindex article signature
6172 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6173 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6174 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6175 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6176 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6177 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6178 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6179 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6180 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6183 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6184 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6185 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6186 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6187 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6188 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6189 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6190 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6193 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6196 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6197 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6202 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6205 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6208 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6209 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6211 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6212 in question is not a signature.
6215 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6219 @node Article Commands
6220 @section Article Commands
6227 @kindex A P (Summary)
6228 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6229 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6230 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6231 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6232 run just before printing the buffer.
6237 @node Summary Sorting
6238 @section Summary Sorting
6239 @cindex summary sorting
6241 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6242 can't really see why you'd want that.
6247 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6249 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6252 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6253 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6254 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6257 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6259 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6262 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6264 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6267 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6268 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6269 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6272 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6274 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6277 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6278 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6279 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6280 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6281 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6285 @node Finding the Parent
6286 @section Finding the Parent
6287 @cindex parent articles
6288 @cindex referring articles
6290 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6292 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6293 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6294 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6295 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6296 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6297 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6298 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6299 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6301 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6302 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6303 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6304 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6305 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6308 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6309 @kindex A R (Summary)
6310 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
6311 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
6312 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6314 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6315 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6317 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6318 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6319 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6320 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6321 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6322 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6323 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6325 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6326 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6327 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6328 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6329 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
6330 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
6331 not really necessary.
6333 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6334 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6335 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6336 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6337 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6338 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6341 @node Alternative Approaches
6342 @section Alternative Approaches
6344 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6345 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6348 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6349 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6354 @subsection Pick and Read
6355 @cindex pick and read
6357 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
6358 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
6359 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
6360 an article buffer displayed.
6362 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6363 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6364 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6365 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6366 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6367 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
6370 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6375 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6376 Pick the article on the current line
6377 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6378 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
6379 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6382 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6383 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6384 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6385 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6389 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6390 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6394 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6395 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6399 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6400 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6404 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6405 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6409 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6410 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6414 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6415 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6419 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6420 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6424 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6425 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6429 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6430 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6434 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6435 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6439 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6440 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6441 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6442 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6443 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6444 will still be visible when you are reading.
6448 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6451 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6454 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6455 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6457 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6458 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6459 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6461 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6462 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
6463 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6464 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6465 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6466 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6467 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6471 @subsection Binary Groups
6472 @cindex binary groups
6474 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6475 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6476 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6477 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6478 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6479 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6480 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6483 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6484 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
6485 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6487 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6488 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6492 @section Tree Display
6495 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6496 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6497 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6498 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6501 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6504 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6505 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6506 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6508 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6509 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6510 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6511 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
6514 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
6515 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
6516 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
6517 default is @code{modeline}.
6519 @item gnus-tree-line-format
6520 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
6521 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
6522 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
6523 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
6524 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
6525 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
6531 The name of the poster.
6533 The @code{From} header.
6535 The number of the article.
6537 The opening bracket.
6539 The closing bracket.
6544 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6546 Variables related to the display are:
6549 @item gnus-tree-brackets
6550 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
6551 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
6552 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
6553 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
6554 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
6556 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6557 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
6558 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
6559 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
6563 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
6564 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
6565 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
6566 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
6567 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
6568 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
6570 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
6571 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
6572 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
6573 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
6574 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
6575 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
6576 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
6580 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
6583 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
6593 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
6597 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
6598 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
6600 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
6602 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
6608 @node Mail Group Commands
6609 @section Mail Group Commands
6610 @cindex mail group commands
6612 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
6613 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6615 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6616 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6621 @kindex B e (Summary)
6622 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6623 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6624 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6627 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6628 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6629 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
6630 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6631 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6632 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6635 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6637 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6638 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6639 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6642 @kindex B m (Summary)
6644 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6645 Move the article from one mail group to another
6646 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6649 @kindex B c (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6652 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6653 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6656 @kindex B C (Summary)
6657 @cindex crosspost mail
6658 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6659 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6660 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6661 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6662 be properly updated.
6665 @kindex B i (Summary)
6666 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6667 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6668 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6669 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6672 @kindex B r (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6674 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6675 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
6676 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
6677 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
6681 @kindex B w (Summary)
6683 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6684 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6685 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6686 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6687 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6690 @kindex B q (Summary)
6691 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6692 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6693 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6694 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6697 @kindex B p (Summary)
6698 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
6699 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
6700 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
6701 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
6702 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
6703 article from your news server (or rather, from
6704 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
6705 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
6706 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
6707 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
6708 just not have arrived yet.
6712 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6713 @cindex moving articles
6714 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6715 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6716 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6717 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6718 suggestions you find reasonable.
6721 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
6722 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
6723 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
6724 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
6728 @node Various Summary Stuff
6729 @section Various Summary Stuff
6732 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6733 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6734 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
6735 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6739 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6740 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6741 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6743 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6744 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6745 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6746 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6747 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6748 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6751 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6752 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6753 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6754 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6755 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6760 @node Summary Group Information
6761 @subsection Summary Group Information
6766 @kindex H f (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6768 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6769 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6770 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6771 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6772 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6773 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6774 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6778 @kindex H d (Summary)
6779 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6780 Give a brief description of the current group
6781 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6782 rereading the description from the server.
6785 @kindex H h (Summary)
6786 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6787 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
6788 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6791 @kindex H i (Summary)
6792 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6793 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6797 @node Searching for Articles
6798 @subsection Searching for Articles
6803 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6804 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6805 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6806 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6809 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6810 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6811 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6812 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6816 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6817 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6818 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6819 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6822 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6823 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6824 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6825 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6828 @node Summary Generation Commands
6829 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
6834 @kindex Y g (Summary)
6835 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
6836 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
6839 @kindex Y c (Summary)
6840 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
6841 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
6842 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
6847 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6848 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6853 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6854 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6855 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6856 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6857 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6858 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6859 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6860 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6861 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6865 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6866 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6867 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6868 several documents into one biiig group
6869 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6870 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6871 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6872 command understands the process/prefix convention
6873 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6876 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6877 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6878 Toggle truncation of summary lines
6879 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
6880 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
6881 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
6885 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6886 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6887 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6892 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6893 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6894 @cindex summary exit
6895 @cindex exiting groups
6897 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6898 group and return you to the group buffer.
6904 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6906 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6907 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6908 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6909 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6910 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6911 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6912 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6913 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6914 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
6915 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
6919 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6921 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6922 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6923 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6927 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6929 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6930 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6931 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6934 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6935 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6936 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6937 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6940 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6941 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6942 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6943 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6946 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6947 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6948 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6949 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6950 all articles, both read and unread.
6954 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6955 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6956 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6957 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6958 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6959 articles, both read and unread.
6962 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6963 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6964 Exit the group and go to the next group
6965 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6968 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6969 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6970 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6971 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6974 @kindex Z s (Summary)
6975 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
6976 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
6977 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
6978 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
6979 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
6982 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6983 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6986 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6987 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6988 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6989 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6990 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6991 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6992 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6993 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6994 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6995 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6996 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6997 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6999 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7001 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7002 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7003 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7004 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7005 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7006 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7007 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7008 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7009 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7012 @node Crosspost Handling
7013 @section Crosspost Handling
7017 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7018 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7019 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7020 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7021 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7022 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7025 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7026 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7027 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7028 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7029 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7031 @cindex cross-posting
7034 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7035 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7036 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7037 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7038 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7039 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7040 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7041 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7042 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7043 the cross reference mechanism.
7045 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7046 @cindex overview.fmt
7047 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7048 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7049 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7050 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7051 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7052 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7055 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7056 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7057 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7062 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7065 @node Duplicate Suppression
7066 @section Duplicate Suppression
7068 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7069 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7070 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7071 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
7076 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7077 is evil and not very common.
7080 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7081 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7084 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7085 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7088 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7091 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
7092 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7094 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7095 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7096 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7097 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7098 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7099 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7100 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7103 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7104 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7105 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7106 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7107 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7111 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7112 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7113 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7115 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7116 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7117 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7118 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7119 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
7120 single Gnus session are suppressed.
7122 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7123 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7124 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7125 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7127 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7128 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7129 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
7130 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7133 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7134 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7135 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7136 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7137 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7138 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7139 to you to figure out, I think.
7142 @node The Article Buffer
7143 @chapter The Article Buffer
7144 @cindex article buffer
7146 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7147 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7148 tell Gnus otherwise.
7151 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7152 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7153 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7154 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7155 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7159 @node Hiding Headers
7160 @section Hiding Headers
7161 @cindex hiding headers
7162 @cindex deleting headers
7164 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7165 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7167 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7168 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7169 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7170 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7171 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7172 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7173 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7174 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7175 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7177 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7181 @item gnus-visible-headers
7182 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7183 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7184 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7185 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7187 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7188 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7191 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7194 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7197 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7198 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7199 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7200 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7201 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7202 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7204 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7205 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7208 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7211 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
7214 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7215 variable will have no effect.
7219 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7220 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7221 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7222 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7223 the headers are to be displayed.
7225 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7226 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7229 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7232 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7233 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
7234 are listed in this variable.
7236 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7237 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7238 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7239 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7240 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7241 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7242 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7243 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7244 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7246 These conditions are:
7249 Remove all empty headers.
7251 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7254 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7255 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7257 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7260 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7264 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7267 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7268 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7271 This is also the default value for this variable.
7275 @section Using @sc{mime}
7278 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7279 while people stand around yawning.
7281 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7282 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7284 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7285 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7286 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7288 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7289 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7290 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7291 @findex metamail-buffer
7292 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7293 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7294 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7295 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7296 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7297 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7298 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7299 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7301 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7302 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7303 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7304 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7305 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7306 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7307 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7308 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7309 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7311 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7314 @node Customizing Articles
7315 @section Customizing Articles
7316 @cindex article customization
7318 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7319 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7320 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7321 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7323 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7324 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7325 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7326 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7327 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7328 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7329 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7330 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7331 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7333 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7334 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7335 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7336 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7337 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7340 @node Article Keymap
7341 @section Article Keymap
7343 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7344 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7345 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7346 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7349 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7354 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7355 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7356 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7359 @kindex DEL (Article)
7360 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7361 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7364 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7365 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7366 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7367 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7368 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7371 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7372 @findex gnus-article-mail
7373 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7374 given a prefix, include the mail.
7378 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7379 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7380 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7384 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7385 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7386 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7389 @kindex TAB (Article)
7390 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7391 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
7392 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7395 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7396 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7397 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
7403 @section Misc Article
7407 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7408 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7409 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7410 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7413 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7414 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7415 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7416 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7417 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7418 the contents of the article buffer.
7420 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7421 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7422 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7423 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7424 hiding headers, and the like.
7426 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7427 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7428 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7430 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7431 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7432 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7433 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7435 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7436 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7437 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7438 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7439 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7443 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7444 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7448 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7450 @item gnus-break-pages
7451 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7452 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
7453 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
7454 paging will not be done.
7456 @item gnus-page-delimiter
7457 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
7458 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
7463 @node Composing Messages
7464 @chapter Composing Messages
7469 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
7470 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
7471 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
7472 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
7473 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
7474 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
7475 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
7478 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
7479 * Post:: Posting and following up.
7480 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
7481 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
7482 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
7483 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
7484 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
7485 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
7488 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
7489 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
7495 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
7498 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
7499 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
7500 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
7501 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
7509 Variables for composing news articles:
7512 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7513 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
7514 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
7515 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
7516 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
7517 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
7518 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
7519 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
7520 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
7523 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7524 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
7525 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
7526 file. It is 1000 by default.
7531 @node Posting Server
7532 @section Posting Server
7534 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
7535 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
7537 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
7539 @vindex gnus-post-method
7541 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
7542 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
7543 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
7544 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
7545 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
7548 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
7551 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
7552 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
7553 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
7554 the ``current'' server for posting.
7556 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
7557 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
7559 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
7560 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
7565 @section Mail and Post
7567 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
7571 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
7572 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
7573 @cindex mailing lists
7575 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
7576 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
7577 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
7578 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
7579 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
7580 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
7581 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
7582 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
7583 still a pain, though.
7587 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
7588 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
7589 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
7592 @findex ispell-message
7594 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
7598 @node Archived Messages
7599 @section Archived Messages
7600 @cindex archived messages
7601 @cindex sent messages
7603 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
7604 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
7605 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
7606 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
7609 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
7610 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
7611 use to store sent messages. The default is:
7615 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
7618 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
7619 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
7620 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
7621 directory chosen, you could say something like:
7624 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
7625 '(nnfolder "archive"
7626 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
7627 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
7628 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
7631 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
7633 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
7634 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
7635 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
7637 This variable can be:
7641 Messages will be saved in that group.
7642 @item a list of strings
7643 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
7644 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
7645 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
7647 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
7652 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
7654 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
7657 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
7659 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
7662 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
7664 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7665 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
7666 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
7667 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
7672 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7673 '((if (message-news-p)
7678 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
7679 messages in one file per month:
7682 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
7683 '((if (message-news-p)
7685 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7686 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7689 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7690 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7691 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7692 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7693 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7694 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7695 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7696 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7697 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7698 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7700 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus also a
7701 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
7702 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
7703 this will disable archiving.
7705 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7706 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7709 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7710 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7711 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7712 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7713 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7716 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7717 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7718 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7721 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
7722 but the latter is the preferred method.
7726 @c @node Posting Styles
7727 @c @section Posting Styles
7728 @c @cindex posting styles
7731 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7733 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7734 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7735 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7738 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7739 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7740 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7741 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7742 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7747 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7748 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7750 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7751 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7752 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7755 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7756 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7757 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7758 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7759 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7760 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7761 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7762 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7764 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7765 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7766 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7767 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7768 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7769 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7772 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7773 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7774 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7775 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7776 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7779 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7780 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7781 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7783 @c So here's a new example:
7786 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7788 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7789 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7790 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7791 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7793 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7794 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7795 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7796 @c (posting-from-work-p
7797 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7798 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7799 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7801 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7808 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7809 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7810 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7811 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7812 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7814 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7815 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7816 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7817 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7818 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7822 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7823 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7824 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7825 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7826 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7827 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7828 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7829 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7831 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7834 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7835 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7836 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7837 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7838 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7839 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7840 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7841 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7842 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7843 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7844 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7845 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7846 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7847 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7849 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7850 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7851 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7853 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7854 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7855 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7856 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7857 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7859 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7862 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7863 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7864 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7865 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7866 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7869 @c @node Rejected Articles
7870 @c @section Rejected Articles
7871 @c @cindex rejected articles
7873 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7874 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7875 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7876 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7878 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7879 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7880 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7881 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7882 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7884 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7885 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7886 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7889 @node Select Methods
7890 @chapter Select Methods
7891 @cindex foreign groups
7892 @cindex select methods
7894 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7895 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7896 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7897 personal mail group.
7899 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7900 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7901 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
7902 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7903 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7904 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7906 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7907 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7909 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7912 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7913 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7914 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
7915 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
7916 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7918 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7921 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7922 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7923 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7924 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7925 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7929 @node The Server Buffer
7930 @section The Server Buffer
7932 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7933 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7934 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7935 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7936 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7937 backend represents a virtual server.
7939 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7940 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7941 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7942 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7944 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7945 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7946 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
7947 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7948 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7949 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7950 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7952 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7953 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7956 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7957 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7958 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7959 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7960 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
7961 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7962 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7965 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7966 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7969 @node Server Buffer Format
7970 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7971 @cindex server buffer format
7973 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7974 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7975 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7976 variable, with some simple extensions:
7981 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7984 The name of this server.
7987 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7990 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7993 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7994 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7995 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8006 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8009 @node Server Commands
8010 @subsection Server Commands
8011 @cindex server commands
8017 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8018 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8022 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8023 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8026 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8027 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8028 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8032 @findex gnus-server-exit
8033 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8037 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8038 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8042 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8043 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8047 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8048 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8052 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8053 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8057 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8058 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8059 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8064 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8065 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8066 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8067 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8072 @node Example Methods
8073 @subsection Example Methods
8075 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8078 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8081 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8087 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8088 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8091 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
8092 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8094 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8095 port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
8099 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8102 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8103 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
8105 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8106 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8107 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8111 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8114 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8117 Here's the method for a public spool:
8121 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8122 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8125 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8126 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8127 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8128 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8129 should probably look something like this:
8133 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8134 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8135 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8136 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8137 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8142 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8143 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8145 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8146 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8148 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8149 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8150 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8152 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8154 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8155 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8156 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8157 will contain the following:
8167 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8168 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8169 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8172 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8173 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8174 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8177 @node Server Variables
8178 @subsection Server Variables
8180 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8181 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8182 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8183 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8184 won't change the "derived" variables.
8186 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8187 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8188 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8189 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8190 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8191 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8192 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8193 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8194 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8198 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8199 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8200 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8204 @node Servers and Methods
8205 @subsection Servers and Methods
8207 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8208 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8209 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8210 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8214 @node Unavailable Servers
8215 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8217 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8218 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8219 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8220 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8221 actually the case or not.
8223 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8224 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
8225 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8226 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
8227 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
8228 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
8229 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
8230 regard that server as ``down''.
8232 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8233 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8235 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8236 with the following commands:
8242 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8243 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8244 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8248 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8249 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8250 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8254 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8255 Mark the current server as unreachable
8256 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8259 @kindex M-o (Server)
8260 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8261 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8262 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8265 @kindex M-c (Server)
8266 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8267 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8268 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8272 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8273 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
8274 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8280 @section Getting News
8281 @cindex reading news
8282 @cindex news backends
8284 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8285 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8286 or it can read from a local spool.
8289 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8290 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8295 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8298 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8299 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8300 server as the, uhm, address.
8302 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8303 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8304 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8305 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8307 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8308 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8309 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8311 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8316 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8317 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8318 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8320 @cindex authentification
8321 @cindex nntp authentification
8322 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8323 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8324 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
8325 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
8326 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
8327 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
8329 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8330 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8331 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8332 server. Available functions include:
8335 @item nntp-send-authinfo
8336 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8337 This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
8338 prompt you for the password. This is the default.
8340 @item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8341 @findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
8342 This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
8344 @item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8345 @findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
8346 This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
8347 read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
8350 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8351 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8352 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8353 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8354 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8357 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8361 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8363 The default value is
8366 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8367 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8370 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8371 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8373 @item nntp-maximum-request
8374 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8375 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8376 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8377 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8378 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8379 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8380 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8382 @item nntp-connection-timeout
8383 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8384 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
8385 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
8386 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
8387 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
8388 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
8389 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
8390 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
8391 no timeouts are done.
8393 @item nntp-command-timeout
8394 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
8395 @cindex PPP connections
8396 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
8397 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
8398 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
8399 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
8400 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
8401 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
8402 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
8403 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
8404 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
8405 likely number is 30 seconds.
8407 @item nntp-retry-on-break
8408 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
8409 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
8410 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
8413 @item nntp-server-hook
8414 @vindex nntp-server-hook
8415 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
8418 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
8419 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
8420 @item nntp-open-connection-function
8421 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
8422 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
8423 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
8424 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
8425 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
8426 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
8428 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
8429 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
8430 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
8431 @code{nntp-open-connection-function}, this list will be used as the
8432 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
8434 @item nntp-end-of-line
8435 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
8436 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
8437 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
8438 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
8440 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
8441 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
8442 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
8446 @vindex nntp-address
8447 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
8449 @item nntp-port-number
8450 @vindex nntp-port-number
8451 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
8454 @item nntp-buggy-select
8455 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
8456 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
8458 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
8459 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
8460 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
8461 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
8462 can be used automatically.
8464 @item nntp-xover-commands
8465 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
8468 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
8469 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
8473 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
8474 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
8475 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
8476 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
8477 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
8478 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
8479 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
8480 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
8481 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
8482 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
8483 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
8485 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
8486 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
8487 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
8489 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8490 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
8491 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
8492 server closes connection.
8498 @subsection News Spool
8502 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
8503 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
8504 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
8507 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
8508 anything else) as the address.
8510 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
8511 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
8512 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
8513 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
8517 @item nnspool-inews-program
8518 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
8519 Program used to post an article.
8521 @item nnspool-inews-switches
8522 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
8523 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
8525 @item nnspool-spool-directory
8526 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
8527 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
8528 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
8530 @item nnspool-nov-directory
8531 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
8532 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
8533 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
8535 @item nnspool-lib-dir
8536 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
8537 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
8539 @item nnspool-active-file
8540 @vindex nnspool-active-file
8541 The path of the active file.
8543 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
8544 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
8545 The path of the group descriptions file.
8547 @item nnspool-history-file
8548 @vindex nnspool-history-file
8549 The path of the news history file.
8551 @item nnspool-active-times-file
8552 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
8553 The path of the active date file.
8555 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
8556 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
8557 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
8560 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8561 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
8563 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
8564 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
8565 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
8571 @section Getting Mail
8572 @cindex reading mail
8575 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
8579 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
8580 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
8581 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
8582 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
8583 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
8584 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
8585 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
8586 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
8587 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
8588 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
8589 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
8593 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
8594 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
8596 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
8597 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
8598 and things will happen automatically.
8600 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
8601 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
8604 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
8605 '((nnml "private")))
8608 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
8609 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
8610 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
8611 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
8612 like any other group.
8614 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
8617 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8618 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8619 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8623 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
8624 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
8625 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
8628 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
8629 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
8630 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
8633 @node Splitting Mail
8634 @subsection Splitting Mail
8635 @cindex splitting mail
8636 @cindex mail splitting
8638 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
8639 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
8640 to be split into groups.
8643 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8644 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
8645 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
8649 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
8650 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
8651 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
8652 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
8653 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
8655 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
8656 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
8659 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
8660 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
8661 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
8662 mail belongs in that group.
8664 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
8665 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
8666 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
8667 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
8668 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
8669 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
8671 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
8672 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
8673 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
8674 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
8675 thinks should carry this mail message.
8677 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
8678 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
8679 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
8680 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
8682 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
8683 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
8684 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
8685 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
8686 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
8688 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
8691 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
8692 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
8693 links. If that's the case for you, set
8694 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
8695 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
8697 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
8698 @kindex nnmail-split-history
8699 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
8700 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
8702 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
8703 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
8704 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
8705 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
8706 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
8707 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
8708 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
8709 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
8713 @node Mail Backend Variables
8714 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
8716 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
8720 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8721 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
8722 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
8723 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
8725 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
8726 @item nnmail-spool-file
8730 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
8731 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
8732 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
8733 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
8734 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
8735 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
8736 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
8737 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
8738 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
8739 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
8740 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
8741 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
8742 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
8743 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
8744 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
8746 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
8748 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
8749 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
8752 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
8753 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
8754 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
8755 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
8756 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
8757 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
8759 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
8760 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8761 @item nnmail-use-procmail
8762 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
8763 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
8764 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
8765 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
8768 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
8769 @item nnmail-crash-box
8770 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
8771 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
8772 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
8775 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8776 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8777 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8778 used for, well, anything, really.
8780 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
8781 @item nnmail-split-hook
8782 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
8783 @findex RFC1522 decoding
8784 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
8785 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
8786 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
8787 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
8788 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
8789 is one likely function to add to this hook.
8791 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8792 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8793 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8794 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8795 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8796 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8797 starting to handle the new mail) and
8798 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8799 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8800 default file modes the new mail files get:
8803 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8804 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8806 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8807 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8810 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8811 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8812 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8813 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8814 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8815 it will be used instead.
8817 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8818 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8819 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8820 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8822 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
8823 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
8826 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8827 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8828 @cindex incoming mail files
8829 @cindex deleting incoming files
8830 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8831 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
8834 @c This is @code{nil} by
8835 @c default for reasons of security.
8837 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8838 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 5.4.27 (or something like that) have
8839 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
8840 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure to
8841 not lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
8844 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8846 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8847 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8848 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8849 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8850 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8853 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8854 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8856 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8861 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8862 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8863 @cindex mail splitting
8864 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8866 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8867 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8868 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8869 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8870 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8871 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8873 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8876 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8877 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8878 ;; from real errors.
8879 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8881 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8882 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8883 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8884 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8885 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8886 ;; Other mailing lists...
8887 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8888 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8890 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8891 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8895 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8896 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8897 the five possible split syntaxes:
8902 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8905 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8906 element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
8907 contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
8911 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8912 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
8913 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
8914 be stored in one or more groups.
8917 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
8918 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
8921 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
8922 this message anywhere.
8925 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
8926 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
8927 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
8932 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
8933 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
8934 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
8935 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
8936 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
8938 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8939 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
8940 are expanded as specified by the variable
8941 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
8942 the car of the cells contains the key, and the cdr contains a string.
8944 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8945 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8946 when all this splitting is performed.
8948 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
8949 information in the headers, you can say things like:
8952 (any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
8955 That is, do @code{replace-match}-like substitions in the group names.
8958 @node Mail and Procmail
8959 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8964 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8965 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8966 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8967 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8968 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8970 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8971 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8974 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8975 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8976 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8977 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8978 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8979 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8981 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8984 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8986 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8987 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8989 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8990 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8991 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8992 to include all your mail groups.
8994 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8995 method will be created automatically.
8997 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8998 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8999 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9000 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9001 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9002 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9003 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9004 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9006 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9007 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9008 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9009 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9010 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9012 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9013 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
9014 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9015 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9016 ever expiring the final article (i. e., the article with the highest
9017 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9019 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9020 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
9021 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9022 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9023 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9026 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9027 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9028 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9029 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9030 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9034 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9035 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9037 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9038 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9039 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9042 Doing so can be quite easy.
9044 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9045 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9046 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9047 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9048 your @code{nnml} groups.
9054 Go to the group buffer.
9057 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
9058 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9061 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9064 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
9068 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9069 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9072 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9073 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9074 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9075 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9076 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9078 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9079 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9080 using the new mail backend.
9084 @subsection Expiring Mail
9085 @cindex article expiry
9087 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9088 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9089 different approach to mail reading.
9091 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9092 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9093 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9094 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9095 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9096 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9099 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9100 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9101 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9102 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9103 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9104 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9105 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9106 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9108 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9109 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9110 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9111 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9112 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9113 column in the summary buffer.
9115 Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
9116 articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
9117 will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9118 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9119 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9121 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9122 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9125 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9126 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9129 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9130 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9132 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9133 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9134 doesn't really mix very well.
9136 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9137 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9138 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9139 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9142 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9143 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9144 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9145 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9148 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9150 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9152 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9154 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9156 ((string= group "important")
9162 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9163 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9165 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9166 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
9167 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
9170 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9171 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9173 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9174 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9175 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9176 easier for procmail users.
9178 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9179 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9180 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9181 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9182 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9183 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9184 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9185 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9186 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9187 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9188 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9189 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9190 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9193 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9197 @subsection Washing Mail
9198 @cindex mail washing
9199 @cindex list server brain damage
9200 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9202 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9203 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9204 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9205 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9206 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9207 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9209 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9210 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9211 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9214 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9215 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9216 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9217 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9220 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9221 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9222 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9223 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9226 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9227 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9228 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9229 Emacs running on MS machines.
9233 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9234 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9235 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9236 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9239 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9240 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9241 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9242 headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
9244 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9245 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9246 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9247 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9248 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9249 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9250 also be a list of regexp.
9252 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9253 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9256 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9257 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9260 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
9261 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
9262 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
9266 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9267 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
9268 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
9272 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
9273 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
9274 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
9281 @subsection Duplicates
9283 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
9284 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
9285 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
9286 @cindex duplicate mails
9287 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
9288 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
9289 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
9290 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
9291 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
9292 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
9293 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
9294 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
9295 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
9296 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
9297 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
9298 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
9299 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
9301 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
9302 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
9303 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
9304 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
9306 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
9309 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
9310 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
9314 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
9315 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
9316 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
9317 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
9318 (any mail "mail.misc")
9325 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9326 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
9331 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
9332 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
9333 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
9334 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
9335 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
9338 @node Not Reading Mail
9339 @subsection Not Reading Mail
9341 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
9342 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
9343 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
9345 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
9346 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
9348 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9349 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9350 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9351 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9352 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9353 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
9354 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
9355 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
9356 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
9357 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
9358 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
9360 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
9361 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
9365 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
9366 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
9368 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
9369 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
9370 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
9373 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
9374 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
9375 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
9376 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
9377 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
9382 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
9384 @cindex unix mail box
9386 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9387 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9388 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
9389 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
9390 which group it belongs in.
9392 Virtual server settings:
9395 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
9396 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
9397 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
9399 @item nnmbox-active-file
9400 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
9401 The name of the active file for the mail box.
9403 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
9404 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
9405 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
9411 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
9415 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9416 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9417 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
9418 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
9419 article to say which group it belongs in.
9421 Virtual server settings:
9424 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
9425 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
9426 The name of the rmail mbox file.
9428 @item nnbabyl-active-file
9429 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
9430 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
9432 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9433 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
9434 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
9439 @subsubsection Mail Spool
9441 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
9443 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
9444 format. It should be used with some caution.
9446 @vindex nnml-directory
9447 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
9448 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
9449 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
9450 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
9452 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
9455 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
9456 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
9457 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
9458 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
9459 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
9460 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
9461 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
9462 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
9464 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
9465 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
9466 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
9467 backend when it comes to reading mail.
9469 Virtual server settings:
9472 @item nnml-directory
9473 @vindex nnml-directory
9474 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
9476 @item nnml-active-file
9477 @vindex nnml-active-file
9478 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
9480 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
9481 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
9482 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
9485 @item nnml-get-new-mail
9486 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
9487 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
9489 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
9490 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
9491 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
9493 @item nnml-nov-file-name
9494 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
9495 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
9497 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9498 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
9499 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
9503 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
9504 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
9505 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
9506 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
9507 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
9508 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
9509 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
9514 @subsubsection MH Spool
9516 @cindex mh-e mail spool
9518 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
9519 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
9520 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
9521 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
9523 Virtual server settings:
9526 @item nnmh-directory
9527 @vindex nnmh-directory
9528 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
9530 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
9531 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
9532 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
9535 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
9536 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
9537 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
9538 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
9539 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
9540 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
9541 to set this variable to @code{t}.
9546 @subsubsection Mail Folders
9548 @cindex mbox folders
9549 @cindex mail folders
9551 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
9552 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
9553 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
9556 Virtual server settings:
9559 @item nnfolder-directory
9560 @vindex nnfolder-directory
9561 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
9563 @item nnfolder-active-file
9564 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
9565 The name of the active file.
9567 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9568 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
9569 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
9571 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
9572 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
9573 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
9576 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
9577 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
9578 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
9579 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
9580 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
9581 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
9585 @section Other Sources
9587 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
9588 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
9592 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
9593 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
9594 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
9595 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
9596 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
9597 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
9601 @node Directory Groups
9602 @subsection Directory Groups
9604 @cindex directory groups
9606 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
9607 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
9610 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
9611 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
9612 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
9614 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
9615 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
9616 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
9617 @code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
9618 @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
9620 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
9622 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
9623 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
9624 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
9625 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
9628 @node Anything Groups
9629 @subsection Anything Groups
9632 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
9633 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
9634 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
9637 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
9638 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
9639 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
9640 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
9641 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
9642 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
9643 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
9644 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
9645 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
9646 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
9649 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
9650 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
9651 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
9652 in the article buffer, just as usual.
9654 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
9655 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
9656 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
9657 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
9659 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
9660 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
9661 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
9662 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
9663 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
9664 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
9665 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
9666 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
9671 @item nneething-map-file-directory
9672 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
9673 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
9674 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
9676 @item nneething-exclude-files
9677 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
9678 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
9679 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
9681 @item nneething-map-file
9682 @vindex nneething-map-file
9683 Name of the map files.
9687 @node Document Groups
9688 @subsection Document Groups
9690 @cindex documentation group
9693 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
9694 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
9701 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
9706 The standard Unix mbox file.
9708 @cindex MMDF mail box
9710 The MMDF mail box format.
9713 Several news articles appended into a file.
9716 @cindex rnews batch files
9717 The rnews batch transport format.
9718 @cindex forwarded messages
9727 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
9728 @cindex RFC 341 digest
9729 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
9731 @item standard-digest
9732 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
9735 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
9738 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
9739 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
9740 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
9743 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
9744 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
9745 group. And that's it.
9747 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
9748 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
9749 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
9750 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
9751 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
9752 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
9753 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
9754 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
9755 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
9756 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
9758 Virtual server variables:
9761 @item nndoc-article-type
9762 @vindex nndoc-article-type
9763 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
9764 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
9765 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
9767 @item nndoc-post-type
9768 @vindex nndoc-post-type
9769 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
9770 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
9775 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
9779 @node Document Server Internals
9780 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
9782 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
9783 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
9784 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
9785 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
9787 First, here's an example document type definition:
9791 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
9792 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
9795 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
9796 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
9797 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
9798 types can be defined with very few settings:
9802 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
9803 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
9807 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
9808 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
9810 @item head-begin-function
9811 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
9814 @item nndoc-head-begin
9815 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
9818 @item nndoc-head-end
9819 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
9820 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
9822 @item body-begin-function
9823 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
9827 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
9830 @item body-end-function
9831 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
9835 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
9837 @item nndoc-file-end
9838 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
9839 regexp will be totally ignored.
9843 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
9844 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
9845 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
9846 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
9847 something that's palatable for Gnus:
9850 @item prepare-body-function
9851 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
9852 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
9853 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
9855 @item article-transform-function
9856 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
9857 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
9858 body of the article.
9860 @item generate-head-function
9861 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
9862 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
9863 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
9864 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
9868 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
9873 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9874 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
9875 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
9876 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
9878 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
9879 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
9880 (subtype digest guess))
9883 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
9884 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
9885 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
9886 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
9887 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
9889 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
9890 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
9891 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
9892 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
9893 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
9894 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
9895 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
9896 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
9897 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
9898 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
9899 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
9907 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
9908 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
9909 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
9911 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
9912 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
9913 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
9916 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
9917 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
9918 that interested in doing things properly.
9920 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
9921 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
9924 First some terminology:
9929 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
9930 get news and/or mail from.
9933 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
9934 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
9937 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
9941 @item message packets
9942 These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
9943 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
9944 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9946 @item response packets
9947 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
9948 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
9949 default, where @var{X} is a number.
9959 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
9960 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
9961 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
9962 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
9965 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9968 You put the packet in your home directory.
9971 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
9972 the native or secondary server.
9975 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9976 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
9979 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9983 You transfer this packet to the server.
9986 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9989 You then repeat until you die.
9993 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9994 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9997 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9998 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9999 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10003 @node SOUP Commands
10004 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10006 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10010 @kindex G s b (Group)
10011 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10012 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10013 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10014 process/prefix convention.
10017 @kindex G s w (Group)
10018 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10019 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10022 @kindex G s s (Group)
10023 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10024 Send all replies from the replies packet
10025 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10028 @kindex G s p (Group)
10029 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10030 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10033 @kindex G s r (Group)
10034 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10035 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10038 @kindex O s (Summary)
10039 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10040 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10041 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10042 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10047 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10052 @item gnus-soup-directory
10053 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10054 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10055 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10057 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10058 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10059 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10060 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10062 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10063 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10064 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10065 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10067 @item gnus-soup-packer
10068 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10069 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10070 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10072 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10073 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10074 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10075 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10077 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10078 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10079 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10081 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10082 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10083 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10084 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10090 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10093 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10094 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10095 you can read them at leisure.
10097 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10101 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10102 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10103 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10104 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10106 @item nnsoup-directory
10107 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10108 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10109 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10111 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10112 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10113 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
10114 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10116 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10117 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10118 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10119 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10120 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10122 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10123 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10124 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
10125 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10127 @item nnsoup-active-file
10128 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10129 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10130 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10131 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10132 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10134 @item nnsoup-packer
10135 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10136 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10137 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10139 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10140 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10141 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10142 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10144 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10145 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10146 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10149 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10150 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10151 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10158 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10160 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10161 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10162 more for that to happen.
10164 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10165 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10166 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10169 In specific, this is what it does:
10172 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10173 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10176 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10177 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10178 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10182 @subsection Web Searches
10186 @cindex InReference
10187 @cindex Usenet searches
10188 @cindex searching the Usenet
10190 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10191 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10192 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10193 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10194 searches without having to use a browser.
10196 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10197 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10198 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10199 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10200 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10202 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10203 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10204 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10205 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10206 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
10207 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10208 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10209 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10210 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10211 header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
10212 read the group as read.
10214 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10215 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10216 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10217 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10218 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10219 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10221 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10222 to use @code{nnweb}.
10224 Virtual server variables:
10229 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10230 are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
10233 @vindex nnweb-search
10234 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10236 @item nnweb-max-hits
10237 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10238 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10241 @item nnweb-type-definition
10242 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10243 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10244 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10249 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10253 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
10256 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
10259 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
10263 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
10270 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
10271 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
10272 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
10275 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
10276 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
10277 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
10279 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
10285 @item nngateway-address
10286 @vindex nngateway-address
10287 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
10289 @item nngateway-header-transformation
10290 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
10291 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
10292 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
10293 transformation should be called, and defaults to
10294 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
10295 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
10298 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
10299 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
10300 @code{Newsgroups} header:
10303 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
10306 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
10309 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
10314 So, to use this, simply say something like:
10317 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
10321 @node Combined Groups
10322 @section Combined Groups
10324 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
10328 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
10329 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
10333 @node Virtual Groups
10334 @subsection Virtual Groups
10336 @cindex virtual groups
10338 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
10341 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
10342 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
10343 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
10345 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
10346 regexp to match component groups.
10348 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
10349 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
10350 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
10351 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
10352 the virtual group.)
10354 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
10355 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
10358 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
10361 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
10362 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
10364 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
10365 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
10366 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
10367 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
10370 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
10373 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
10374 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
10375 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
10376 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
10377 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
10379 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
10380 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
10381 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
10383 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
10384 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
10385 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
10386 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
10387 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
10388 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
10389 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
10390 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
10391 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
10392 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
10393 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
10396 @node Kibozed Groups
10397 @subsection Kibozed Groups
10401 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
10402 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
10403 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
10404 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
10406 @kindex G k (Group)
10407 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
10410 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
10411 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
10412 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
10413 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
10415 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
10416 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
10417 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
10419 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
10420 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
10421 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
10422 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
10423 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
10424 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
10425 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
10426 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
10428 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
10429 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
10430 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
10431 Stranger things have happened.
10433 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
10434 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
10436 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
10437 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
10438 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
10439 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
10440 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
10441 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
10444 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
10445 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
10452 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
10453 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
10454 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
10457 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
10458 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
10459 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
10460 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
10461 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
10463 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
10464 before generating the summary buffer.
10466 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
10467 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
10468 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
10470 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
10471 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
10472 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
10473 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
10476 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
10477 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
10478 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
10479 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
10480 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
10481 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
10482 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
10483 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
10484 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
10485 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
10486 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
10487 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
10488 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
10489 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
10490 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
10491 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
10495 @node Summary Score Commands
10496 @section Summary Score Commands
10497 @cindex score commands
10499 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
10500 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
10501 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
10502 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
10503 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
10505 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
10506 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
10507 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
10508 score file the current one.
10510 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
10515 @kindex V s (Summary)
10516 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
10517 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
10520 @kindex V S (Summary)
10521 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
10522 Display the score of the current article
10523 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
10526 @kindex V t (Summary)
10527 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
10528 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
10529 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
10532 @kindex V R (Summary)
10533 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
10534 Run the current summary through the scoring process
10535 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
10536 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
10537 effect you're having.
10540 @kindex V a (Summary)
10541 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
10542 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
10543 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
10546 @kindex V c (Summary)
10547 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
10548 Make a different score file the current
10549 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
10552 @kindex V e (Summary)
10553 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
10554 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
10555 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
10559 @kindex V f (Summary)
10560 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
10561 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
10562 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
10565 @kindex V F (Summary)
10566 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10567 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
10568 after editing score files.
10571 @kindex V C (Summary)
10572 @findex gnus-score-customize
10573 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
10574 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
10577 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
10578 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
10579 Increase the score of the current article
10580 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
10583 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
10584 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
10585 Lower the score of the current article
10586 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
10589 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
10594 @kindex V m (Summary)
10595 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
10596 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
10597 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
10600 @kindex V x (Summary)
10601 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
10602 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
10603 expunge all articles below this score
10604 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
10607 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
10608 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
10613 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
10614 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
10616 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
10617 keys are available:
10621 Score on the author name.
10624 Score on the subject line.
10627 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
10630 Score on thread---the References line.
10636 Score on the number of lines.
10639 Score on the Message-ID.
10642 Score on followups.
10652 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
10653 what headers you are scoring on.
10665 Substring matching.
10668 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
10697 Greater than number.
10702 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
10703 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
10704 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
10708 Temporary score entry.
10711 Permanent score entry.
10714 Immediately scoring.
10719 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
10720 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
10721 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
10722 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
10724 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
10725 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
10726 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
10727 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
10728 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
10730 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
10731 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
10732 pretend they are keymaps or not.
10735 @node Group Score Commands
10736 @section Group Score Commands
10737 @cindex group score commands
10739 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
10744 @kindex W f (Group)
10745 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
10746 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
10747 all the time. This command will flush the cache
10748 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
10753 @node Score Variables
10754 @section Score Variables
10755 @cindex score variables
10759 @item gnus-use-scoring
10760 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
10761 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
10762 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
10764 @item gnus-kill-killed
10765 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
10766 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
10767 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
10768 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
10769 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
10770 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
10771 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
10773 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
10774 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
10775 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
10776 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
10777 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
10779 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
10780 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
10781 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
10782 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
10784 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10785 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
10786 @cindex score cache
10787 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
10788 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
10789 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
10790 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
10791 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
10792 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
10793 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
10796 @item gnus-save-score
10797 @vindex gnus-save-score
10798 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
10799 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
10800 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
10802 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10803 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
10804 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
10805 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
10806 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
10807 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
10808 manually entered data.
10810 @item gnus-summary-default-score
10811 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
10812 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
10814 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
10815 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
10816 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
10817 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
10818 articles will be hidden.
10820 @item gnus-score-over-mark
10821 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
10822 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
10823 default. Default is @samp{+}.
10825 @item gnus-score-below-mark
10826 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
10827 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
10828 default. Default is @samp{-}.
10830 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10831 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
10832 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
10833 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
10835 Predefined functions available are:
10838 @item gnus-score-find-single
10839 @findex gnus-score-find-single
10840 Only apply the group's own score file.
10842 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
10843 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
10844 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
10845 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
10846 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
10847 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
10848 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
10849 then a regexp match is done.
10851 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
10852 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
10854 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
10855 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
10856 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
10857 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
10859 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10860 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
10861 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
10862 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
10863 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
10866 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
10867 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
10868 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
10869 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
10870 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
10871 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
10874 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
10875 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
10876 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
10877 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
10878 are expired. It's 7 by default.
10880 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10881 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
10882 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
10883 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
10884 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
10885 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
10886 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
10889 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10890 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
10891 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
10896 @node Score File Format
10897 @section Score File Format
10898 @cindex score file format
10900 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
10901 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
10902 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
10904 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
10908 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
10910 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
10912 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
10914 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
10919 (mark-and-expunge -10)
10923 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
10924 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
10925 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
10926 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
10930 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
10932 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
10933 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
10934 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
10936 Six keys are supported by this alist:
10941 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
10942 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
10943 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
10944 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
10945 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
10946 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
10947 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
10948 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
10949 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
10950 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
10951 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
10952 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
10953 to articles that matches these score entries.
10955 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
10956 score entry has one to four elements.
10960 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
10961 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
10965 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
10966 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
10967 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
10968 is successful. If this element is not present, the
10969 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
10970 instead. This is 1000 by default.
10973 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
10974 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
10975 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
10976 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
10977 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
10980 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
10981 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
10982 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
10983 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
10986 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
10987 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
10988 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
10989 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
10990 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
10991 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
10992 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
10993 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
10994 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
10995 instead, if you feel like.
10998 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
10999 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
11000 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
11001 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
11002 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
11003 the articles with few lines.
11006 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
11007 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
11008 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
11009 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
11010 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
11011 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
11012 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
11016 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
11017 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
11018 ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
11019 match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
11020 could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
11021 (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
11022 match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
11023 was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
11026 @item Head, Body, All
11027 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
11031 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
11032 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
11033 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
11034 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
11035 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
11036 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
11040 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
11041 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
11042 started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
11043 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
11044 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
11045 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
11046 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
11047 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
11048 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
11049 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
11054 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11055 lower than this number will be marked as read.
11058 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11059 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
11061 @item mark-and-expunge
11062 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
11063 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
11066 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
11067 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
11068 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
11069 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
11070 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
11073 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
11074 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
11077 @item exclude-files
11078 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
11079 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
11083 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
11084 ignored when handling global score files.
11087 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
11088 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
11091 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
11092 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
11093 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
11094 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
11096 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
11100 (mark-and-expunge -100)
11103 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
11104 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
11105 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
11106 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
11107 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
11109 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
11110 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
11111 ordinary scoring rules.
11114 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
11115 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
11116 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
11117 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
11118 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
11119 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
11120 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
11121 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
11122 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
11123 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
11124 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
11128 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
11129 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
11130 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
11131 file for a number of groups.
11134 @cindex local variables
11135 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
11136 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
11137 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
11138 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
11143 @node Score File Editing
11144 @section Score File Editing
11146 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
11147 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
11148 with a mode for that.
11150 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
11151 additional commands:
11156 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
11157 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
11158 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
11159 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
11162 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
11163 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
11164 Insert the current date in numerical format
11165 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
11166 you were wondering.
11169 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
11170 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
11171 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
11172 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
11173 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
11178 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
11180 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
11181 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
11183 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
11184 e} to begin editing score files.
11187 @node Adaptive Scoring
11188 @section Adaptive Scoring
11189 @cindex adaptive scoring
11191 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
11192 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
11193 stupidity, to be precise.
11195 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
11196 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
11197 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
11198 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
11199 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
11200 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
11201 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
11202 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
11203 variable to @code{(word line)}.
11205 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11206 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
11207 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
11208 might look something like this:
11211 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
11212 '((gnus-unread-mark)
11213 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
11214 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
11215 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
11216 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
11217 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
11218 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
11219 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
11220 (gnus-ancient-mark)
11221 (gnus-low-score-mark)
11222 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
11225 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
11226 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
11227 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
11228 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
11229 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
11230 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
11233 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
11234 will be applied to each article.
11236 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
11237 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
11238 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
11239 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
11241 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
11242 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
11243 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
11244 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
11246 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
11247 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
11248 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
11249 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
11251 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
11252 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
11253 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
11254 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
11255 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
11256 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
11258 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
11259 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
11260 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
11261 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
11262 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
11263 aspirins afterwards.)
11265 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
11266 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
11267 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
11269 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
11270 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
11271 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
11273 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
11274 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
11275 let you use different rules in different groups.
11277 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
11278 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
11279 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
11282 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
11283 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
11284 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
11285 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
11286 the length of the match is less than
11287 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
11288 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
11291 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11292 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
11293 headers. If you adapt on words, the
11294 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
11295 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
11298 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
11299 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
11300 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
11301 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
11302 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
11305 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
11306 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
11307 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
11308 score with 30 points.
11310 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
11311 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
11312 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
11313 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
11314 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
11316 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
11317 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
11318 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
11319 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
11321 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
11322 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
11323 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
11325 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
11326 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
11327 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
11328 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
11331 @node Home Score File
11332 @section Home Score File
11334 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
11335 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
11336 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
11337 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
11339 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
11340 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
11341 could perhaps use the same home score file.
11343 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
11344 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
11349 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
11353 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
11354 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
11358 A list. The elements in this list can be:
11362 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
11363 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
11366 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
11367 the home score file.
11370 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
11373 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
11378 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
11381 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11382 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
11385 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
11386 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
11389 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11390 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
11393 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
11395 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
11396 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
11397 their own home score files:
11400 (setq gnus-home-score-file
11401 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
11402 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
11403 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
11404 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
11407 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
11408 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
11409 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
11410 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
11411 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
11413 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
11414 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
11415 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
11416 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
11417 precedence over this variable.
11420 @node Followups To Yourself
11421 @section Followups To Yourself
11423 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
11424 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
11425 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
11426 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
11427 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
11428 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
11432 @item gnus-score-followup-article
11433 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
11434 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
11437 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
11438 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
11439 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
11443 @vindex message-sent-hook
11444 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
11445 @code{message-sent-hook}.
11447 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
11448 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
11452 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11453 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
11456 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
11457 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
11462 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r))
11465 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
11466 is system-dependent.
11470 @section Scoring Tips
11471 @cindex scoring tips
11477 @cindex scoring crossposts
11478 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
11479 the @code{Xref} header.
11481 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
11484 @item Multiple crossposts
11485 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
11486 more than, say, 3 groups:
11488 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
11491 @item Matching on the body
11492 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
11493 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
11494 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
11495 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
11496 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
11497 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
11498 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
11501 @item Marking as read
11502 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
11503 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
11504 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
11508 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
11510 @item Negated character classes
11511 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
11512 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
11513 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
11517 @node Reverse Scoring
11518 @section Reverse Scoring
11519 @cindex reverse scoring
11521 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
11522 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
11523 like this in your score file:
11527 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
11532 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
11533 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
11536 @node Global Score Files
11537 @section Global Score Files
11538 @cindex global score files
11540 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
11541 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
11542 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
11544 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
11545 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
11546 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
11548 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
11549 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
11550 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
11551 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
11552 files are applicable to which group.
11554 Say you want to use the score file
11555 @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
11556 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
11559 (setq gnus-global-score-files
11560 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
11561 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
11564 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
11565 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
11566 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
11567 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
11568 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
11570 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
11571 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
11573 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
11574 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
11575 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
11576 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
11577 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
11578 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
11580 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
11586 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
11588 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
11590 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
11592 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
11593 lowered out of existence.
11595 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
11596 articles completely.
11599 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
11600 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
11601 old articles for a long time.
11604 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
11605 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
11606 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
11607 holding our breath yet?
11611 @section Kill Files
11614 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
11615 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
11616 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
11618 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
11619 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
11620 files into score files.
11622 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
11623 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
11624 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
11625 that isn't a very good idea.
11627 Normal kill files look like this:
11630 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11631 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
11635 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
11636 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
11638 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
11639 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
11642 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
11647 @kindex M-k (Summary)
11648 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
11649 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
11652 @kindex M-K (Summary)
11653 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
11654 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
11657 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
11662 @kindex M-k (Group)
11663 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
11664 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
11667 @kindex M-K (Group)
11668 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
11669 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
11672 Kill file variables:
11675 @item gnus-kill-file-name
11676 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
11677 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
11678 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
11679 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
11680 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
11681 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
11683 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11684 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
11685 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
11686 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
11689 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
11690 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
11691 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
11692 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
11693 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
11694 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
11695 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
11696 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
11697 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
11699 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11700 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
11701 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
11706 @node Converting Kill Files
11707 @section Converting Kill Files
11709 @cindex converting kill files
11711 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
11712 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
11713 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
11716 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
11717 You can fetch it from
11718 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
11720 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
11721 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
11722 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
11730 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
11731 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
11732 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
11734 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
11735 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
11736 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
11737 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
11738 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
11739 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
11740 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
11741 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
11745 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
11746 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
11747 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
11748 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
11752 @node Using GroupLens
11753 @subsection Using GroupLens
11755 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
11757 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
11758 better bit in town is at the moment.
11760 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
11764 @item gnus-use-grouplens
11765 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
11766 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
11767 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
11769 @item grouplens-pseudonym
11770 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
11771 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
11772 with the Better Bit Bureau.
11774 @item grouplens-newsgroups
11775 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
11776 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
11780 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
11781 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
11782 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
11783 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
11784 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
11785 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
11788 @node Rating Articles
11789 @subsection Rating Articles
11791 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
11792 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
11793 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
11794 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
11797 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
11802 @kindex r (GroupLens)
11803 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
11804 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
11807 @kindex k (GroupLens)
11808 @findex grouplens-score-thread
11809 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
11810 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
11811 threads in rec.humor.
11815 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
11816 the score of the article you're reading.
11821 @kindex n (GroupLens)
11822 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
11823 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
11826 @kindex , (GroupLens)
11827 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
11828 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
11832 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
11833 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
11836 @node Displaying Predictions
11837 @subsection Displaying Predictions
11839 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
11840 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
11841 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
11842 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
11843 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
11845 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
11846 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
11847 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
11848 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
11849 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
11850 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
11851 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
11852 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
11853 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
11854 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
11855 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
11856 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
11857 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
11859 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
11860 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
11861 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
11862 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
11864 The following are legal values for that variable.
11867 @item prediction-spot
11868 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
11871 @item confidence-interval
11872 A numeric confidence interval.
11874 @item prediction-bar
11875 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
11877 @item confidence-bar
11878 Numerical confidence.
11880 @item confidence-spot
11881 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
11883 @item prediction-num
11884 Plain-old numeric value.
11886 @item confidence-plus-minus
11887 Prediction +/i confidence.
11892 @node GroupLens Variables
11893 @subsection GroupLens Variables
11897 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
11898 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
11899 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
11900 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
11901 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
11903 @item grouplens-bbb-host
11904 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
11907 @item grouplens-bbb-port
11908 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
11910 @item grouplens-score-offset
11911 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
11912 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
11915 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
11916 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
11917 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
11922 @node Advanced Scoring
11923 @section Advanced Scoring
11925 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
11926 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
11927 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
11928 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
11929 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
11931 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
11935 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
11936 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
11937 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
11941 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
11942 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
11944 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
11945 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
11946 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
11947 non-@code{nil} value.
11949 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
11950 operator, and various match operators.
11957 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11958 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
11959 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
11964 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
11965 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
11966 then this operator will return @code{false}.
11971 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
11972 inverse of the value of its argument.
11976 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
11977 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
11978 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
11979 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
11980 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
11981 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
11982 the ancestry you want to go.
11984 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
11985 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
11986 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
11987 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
11988 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
11991 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
11992 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
11994 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
11995 when he's talking about Gnus:
11999 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12000 ("subject" "Gnus"))
12006 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
12010 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12017 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
12018 really don't want to read what he's written:
12022 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12023 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
12027 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
12028 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
12029 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
12036 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
12037 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
12038 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
12039 ("body" "white.*socks"))
12043 The possibilities are endless.
12046 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
12047 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
12049 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
12050 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
12051 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
12052 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
12053 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
12054 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
12055 @samp{subject}) first.
12057 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
12058 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
12069 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
12070 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
12076 ("subject" "Gnus")))
12083 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
12084 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
12089 @section Score Decays
12090 @cindex score decays
12093 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
12094 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
12095 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
12096 use them in any sensible way.
12098 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
12099 @findex gnus-decay-score
12100 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
12101 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
12102 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
12103 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
12104 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
12105 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
12106 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
12107 definition of that function:
12110 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
12113 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
12115 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
12117 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
12120 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
12121 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
12122 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
12123 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
12127 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
12130 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
12133 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
12137 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
12138 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
12139 the new score, which should be an integer.
12141 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
12142 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
12149 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
12150 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
12151 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
12152 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
12153 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
12154 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
12155 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
12156 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
12157 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
12158 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
12159 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
12160 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
12161 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
12162 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
12163 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
12164 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
12168 @node Process/Prefix
12169 @section Process/Prefix
12170 @cindex process/prefix convention
12172 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
12173 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
12175 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
12176 command to be performed on.
12180 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
12181 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
12182 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
12183 with the current one.
12185 @vindex transient-mark-mode
12186 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
12187 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
12189 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
12190 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
12193 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
12194 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
12196 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
12199 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
12200 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
12201 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
12202 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12204 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
12205 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
12206 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
12207 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
12208 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
12209 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
12210 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
12211 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
12215 @section Interactive
12216 @cindex interaction
12220 @item gnus-novice-user
12221 @vindex gnus-novice-user
12222 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
12223 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
12224 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
12225 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
12228 @item gnus-expert-user
12229 @vindex gnus-expert-user
12230 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
12231 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
12232 matter how strange.
12234 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
12235 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
12236 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
12237 is @code{t} by default.
12239 @item gnus-interactive-exit
12240 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
12241 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
12246 @node Formatting Variables
12247 @section Formatting Variables
12248 @cindex formatting variables
12250 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
12251 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
12252 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
12253 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
12254 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
12257 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
12258 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
12259 lots of percentages everywhere.
12262 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
12263 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
12264 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
12265 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
12268 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
12269 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
12270 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
12271 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
12272 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
12273 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
12274 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
12275 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
12277 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
12278 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
12280 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
12281 @findex gnus-update-format
12282 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
12283 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
12284 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
12285 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
12289 @node Formatting Basics
12290 @subsection Formatting Basics
12292 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
12293 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
12294 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
12296 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
12297 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
12298 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
12299 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
12300 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
12303 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
12304 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
12305 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
12306 less than 4 characters wide.
12309 @node Advanced Formatting
12310 @subsection Advanced Formatting
12312 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
12313 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
12314 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
12315 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
12317 These are the legal modifiers:
12322 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
12326 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
12331 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
12334 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
12339 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
12342 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
12345 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
12348 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
12352 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
12353 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
12354 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
12355 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
12356 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
12357 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
12358 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
12360 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
12361 last operation, padding.
12363 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
12364 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
12365 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
12366 @xref{Compilation}.
12369 @node User-Defined Specs
12370 @subsection User-Defined Specs
12372 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
12373 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
12374 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
12375 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
12376 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
12377 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
12378 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
12379 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
12380 should protect against that.
12382 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
12383 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
12384 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
12385 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
12389 @node Formatting Fonts
12390 @subsection Formatting Fonts
12392 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
12393 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
12394 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
12395 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
12398 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
12399 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
12400 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
12401 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
12402 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
12403 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
12405 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
12408 ;; Create three face types.
12409 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
12410 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
12412 ;; We want the article count to be in
12413 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
12414 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
12415 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
12417 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
12418 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
12420 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
12421 (setq gnus-group-line-format
12422 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
12425 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
12426 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
12428 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
12429 mode-line variables.
12432 @node Windows Configuration
12433 @section Windows Configuration
12434 @cindex windows configuration
12436 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
12438 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
12439 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
12440 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
12441 @code{t} by default.
12443 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
12444 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
12445 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
12448 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
12449 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
12450 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12454 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
12455 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
12456 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
12457 possible names is listed below.
12459 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
12460 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
12463 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
12467 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
12468 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
12469 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
12470 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
12471 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
12472 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
12473 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
12474 size spec per split.
12476 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
12479 Here's a more complicated example:
12482 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
12483 (summary 0.25 point)
12484 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
12488 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
12489 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
12490 occupy, not a percentage.
12492 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
12493 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
12494 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
12495 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
12496 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
12499 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
12502 (article (horizontal 1.0
12507 (summary 0.25 point)
12512 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
12513 @code{horizontal} thingie?
12515 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
12516 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
12517 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
12518 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
12519 the screen is to be given to this strip.
12521 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
12522 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
12523 lines from the splits.
12525 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
12529 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
12530 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
12531 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
12532 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
12533 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
12534 size = number | frame-params
12535 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
12538 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
12539 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
12540 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
12541 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
12543 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
12544 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
12545 @cindex window height
12546 @cindex window width
12547 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
12548 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
12549 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
12550 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
12551 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
12552 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
12554 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
12555 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
12556 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
12557 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
12559 @findex gnus-configure-frame
12560 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
12561 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
12562 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
12563 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
12564 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
12565 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
12566 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
12567 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
12568 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
12569 configuration list.
12572 (gnus-configure-frame
12576 (article 0.3 point))
12584 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
12585 @code{frame} split:
12588 (gnus-configure-frame
12591 (summary 0.25 point)
12593 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
12594 (user-position . t)
12595 (left . -1) (top . 1))
12600 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
12601 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
12602 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
12603 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
12604 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
12605 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
12608 Here's a list of all possible keys for
12609 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
12611 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
12612 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
12613 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
12614 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
12615 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
12616 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
12618 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
12619 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
12620 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
12624 (message (horizontal 1.0
12625 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
12627 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
12632 @findex gnus-add-configuration
12633 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
12634 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
12635 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
12636 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
12639 (gnus-add-configuration
12640 '(article (vertical 1.0
12642 (summary .25 point)
12646 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
12647 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
12648 Gnus has been loaded.
12650 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
12651 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
12652 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
12653 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
12654 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
12658 @section Compilation
12659 @cindex compilation
12660 @cindex byte-compilation
12662 @findex gnus-compile
12664 Remember all those line format specification variables?
12665 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
12666 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
12667 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
12668 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
12669 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
12672 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
12673 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
12674 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
12675 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
12676 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
12677 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
12678 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
12682 @section Mode Lines
12685 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
12686 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
12687 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
12688 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
12689 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
12690 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
12691 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
12694 @cindex display-time
12696 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
12697 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
12698 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
12699 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
12700 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
12701 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
12702 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
12703 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
12706 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
12708 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
12709 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
12711 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
12712 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
12713 (length display-time-string)))))
12716 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
12717 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
12718 Note that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the
12719 percentage complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line;
12720 the user should configure this variable appropriately for their
12724 @node Highlighting and Menus
12725 @section Highlighting and Menus
12727 @cindex highlighting
12730 @vindex gnus-visual
12731 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
12732 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
12733 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
12736 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
12737 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
12740 @item group-highlight
12741 Do highlights in the group buffer.
12742 @item summary-highlight
12743 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
12744 @item article-highlight
12745 Do highlights in the article buffer.
12747 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
12749 Create menus in the group buffer.
12751 Create menus in the summary buffers.
12753 Create menus in the article buffer.
12755 Create menus in the browse buffer.
12757 Create menus in the server buffer.
12759 Create menus in the score buffers.
12761 Create menus in all buffers.
12764 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
12765 buffers, you could say something like:
12768 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
12771 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
12774 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
12777 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
12778 in all Gnus buffers.
12780 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
12783 @item gnus-mouse-face
12784 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
12785 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
12786 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
12790 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
12794 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
12795 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
12796 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
12798 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
12799 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
12800 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
12802 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
12803 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
12804 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
12806 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
12807 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
12808 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
12810 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
12811 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
12812 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
12814 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
12815 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
12816 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
12827 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
12828 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
12829 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
12830 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
12831 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
12835 @vindex gnus-carpal
12836 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
12837 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
12838 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
12843 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12844 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
12845 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
12847 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
12848 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
12849 Face used on buttons.
12851 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
12852 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
12853 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
12855 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12856 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
12857 Buttons in the group buffer.
12859 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12860 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
12861 Buttons in the summary buffer.
12863 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12864 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
12865 Buttons in the server buffer.
12867 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12868 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
12869 Buttons in the browse buffer.
12872 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
12873 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
12874 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
12882 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
12883 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
12884 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
12885 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
12886 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
12888 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
12889 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
12890 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
12892 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
12893 been idle for thirty minutes:
12896 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12899 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
12903 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
12906 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
12907 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
12908 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12910 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
12911 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
12912 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
12913 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
12915 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
12916 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
12917 @var{idle} minutes.
12919 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
12920 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
12923 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
12924 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
12925 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
12927 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
12928 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
12929 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
12930 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
12932 @vindex gnus-use-demon
12933 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
12934 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
12936 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
12937 your @file{.gnus} file:
12939 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
12941 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
12944 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
12945 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
12946 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
12947 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
12948 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
12949 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
12950 @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just
12951 put those functions in your @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
12953 @findex gnus-demon-init
12954 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
12955 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
12956 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
12957 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
12958 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
12960 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
12961 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
12962 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
12971 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
12972 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
12974 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
12975 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
12976 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
12977 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
12980 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
12981 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
12982 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
12983 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
12985 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
12986 this will make spam disappear.
12988 There are some variables to customize, of course:
12991 @item gnus-use-nocem
12992 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
12993 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
12996 @item gnus-nocem-groups
12997 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
12998 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
12999 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
13000 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
13002 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
13003 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
13004 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
13005 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
13006 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
13007 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
13009 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
13012 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
13013 @cindex Chris Lewis
13014 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
13015 usenet abuse than anybody else.
13018 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
13019 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
13020 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
13022 @item jem@@xpat.com;
13024 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
13027 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
13028 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
13029 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
13032 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
13033 ones you want to listen to.
13035 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
13036 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
13038 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
13039 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
13040 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
13041 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
13043 @item gnus-nocem-directory
13044 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
13045 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
13046 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
13048 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
13049 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
13050 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
13051 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
13052 might then see old spam.
13060 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
13061 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
13062 over your shoulder as you read news.
13065 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
13066 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
13067 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
13068 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
13069 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
13074 @subsection Picon Basics
13076 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
13079 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
13080 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
13081 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
13082 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
13083 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
13084 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
13085 @code{GIF} formats.
13088 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases, point
13089 your Web browser at
13090 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
13092 @vindex gnus-picons-database
13093 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
13094 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
13097 @node Picon Requirements
13098 @subsection Picon Requirements
13100 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
13101 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
13104 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
13106 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13107 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
13108 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
13109 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
13113 @subsection Easy Picons
13115 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
13116 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
13119 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
13120 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
13121 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
13122 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
13127 @subsection Hard Picons
13129 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
13130 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
13131 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
13132 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
13133 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
13137 @item gnus-picons-display-where
13138 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
13139 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
13140 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
13141 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
13142 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
13143 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
13144 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
13148 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
13149 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
13151 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
13152 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
13153 displayed at the right time.
13155 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
13156 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
13158 @item gnus-article-display-picons
13159 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
13160 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
13161 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
13162 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
13164 @item gnus-group-display-picons
13165 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
13166 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
13167 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
13168 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
13169 is set to @code{article}.
13171 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
13172 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
13173 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
13174 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
13178 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
13179 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
13182 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
13186 @node Picon Configuration
13187 @subsection Picon Configuration
13189 The following variables offer further control over how things are
13190 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
13191 don't need to worry about.
13194 @item gnus-picons-database
13195 @vindex gnus-picons-database
13196 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
13197 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
13198 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
13200 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
13201 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
13202 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
13205 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
13206 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
13207 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
13208 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")} is the default.
13210 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
13211 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
13212 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
13213 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
13214 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
13216 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13217 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
13218 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
13219 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
13220 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
13221 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
13223 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13224 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
13225 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
13226 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
13228 @item gnus-picons-buffer
13229 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
13230 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
13231 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
13240 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
13241 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
13242 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
13244 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
13245 Gnus---it's all just data that is designed to look nice to the user.
13246 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
13247 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
13248 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
13249 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
13250 @code{undo} function.
13252 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
13253 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
13254 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
13255 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
13256 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
13257 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
13258 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
13259 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
13260 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
13261 never be totally undoable.
13263 @findex gnus-undo-mode
13264 @vindex gnus-use-undo
13266 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
13267 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
13268 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
13269 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
13274 @section Moderation
13277 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
13278 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
13279 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
13282 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
13286 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
13289 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
13291 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
13296 You split your incoming mail by matching on
13297 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
13298 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
13301 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
13302 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
13305 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
13306 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
13310 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
13313 (setq gnus-moderated-list
13314 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
13318 @node XEmacs Enhancements
13319 @section XEmacs Enhancements
13322 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
13323 advantage of that. Relevant variables include:
13326 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13327 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
13328 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
13329 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
13330 unusual directory structure.
13332 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13333 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
13334 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
13335 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
13337 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13338 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
13339 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
13340 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
13341 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
13342 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
13344 @item gnus-use-toolbar
13345 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
13346 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
13347 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
13348 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
13350 @item gnus-group-toolbar
13351 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
13352 The toolbar in the group buffer.
13354 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
13355 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
13356 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
13358 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13359 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
13360 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
13362 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13363 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
13364 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
13370 @node Fuzzy Matching
13371 @section Fuzzy Matching
13372 @cindex fuzzy matching
13374 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
13375 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
13377 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
13378 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
13379 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
13381 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
13382 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
13383 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
13384 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
13385 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
13388 @node Various Various
13389 @section Various Various
13395 @item gnus-home-directory
13396 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
13397 defaults to @file{~/}.
13399 @item gnus-directory
13400 @vindex gnus-directory
13401 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
13402 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
13403 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
13405 @item gnus-default-directory
13406 @vindex gnus-default-directory
13407 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
13408 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
13409 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
13410 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13411 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
13412 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
13415 @vindex gnus-verbose
13416 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
13417 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
13418 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
13419 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
13420 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
13422 @item gnus-verbose-backends
13423 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
13424 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
13425 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
13427 @item nnheader-max-head-length
13428 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
13429 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
13430 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
13431 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
13432 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
13433 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
13434 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
13435 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
13438 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
13439 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
13440 This variable says how big a piece of each article to read when doing
13441 the operation described above.
13443 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13444 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13446 @cindex illegal characters in file names
13447 @cindex characters in file names
13448 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
13449 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
13450 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
13453 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
13457 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
13458 Windows (phooey) systems.
13460 @item gnus-hidden-properties
13461 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
13462 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
13463 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
13464 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
13466 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
13467 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
13468 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
13469 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
13470 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
13472 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
13473 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
13474 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
13483 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
13484 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
13486 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
13488 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
13494 Not because of victories @*
13497 but for the common sunshine,@*
13499 the largess of the spring.
13503 but for the day's work done@*
13504 as well as I was able;@*
13505 not for a seat upon the dais@*
13506 but at the common table.@*
13511 @chapter Appendices
13514 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
13515 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
13516 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
13517 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
13518 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
13519 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
13520 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
13528 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
13529 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
13531 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
13532 can point your (feh!) web browser to
13533 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
13534 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
13535 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
13537 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
13538 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
13539 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
13540 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
13541 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
13542 appropriate name, don't you think?)
13544 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
13545 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
13546 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
13547 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
13549 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5.4.27 was done in November 1995 when it
13550 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
13551 plus 15 Gnus 5.4.27 releases).
13553 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
13554 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.4.27'' (40 releases).
13556 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
13557 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4.27''.
13559 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a name that is prefixed --
13560 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
13561 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
13562 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
13563 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
13567 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
13568 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
13569 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
13570 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
13571 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
13572 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
13573 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
13580 What's the point of Gnus?
13582 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
13583 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
13584 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
13585 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
13586 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
13587 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
13588 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
13589 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
13590 keep track of millions of people who post?
13592 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
13593 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
13594 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
13595 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
13596 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
13597 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
13598 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
13599 of you to explore and invent.
13601 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
13604 @node Compatibility
13605 @subsection Compatibility
13607 @cindex compatibility
13608 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
13609 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
13610 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
13615 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
13619 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
13622 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
13625 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
13626 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
13627 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
13628 important variables have their values copied into their global
13629 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
13630 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
13632 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
13633 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
13634 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
13635 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
13636 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
13640 @cindex highlighting
13641 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
13642 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
13643 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
13644 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
13645 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
13646 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
13649 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
13650 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
13651 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
13652 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
13654 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
13655 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
13656 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
13657 to stop doing it the old way.
13659 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
13661 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13663 @cindex reporting bugs
13665 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
13666 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
13667 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
13671 @subsection Conformity
13673 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
13674 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
13681 There are no known breaches of this standard.
13685 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
13687 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13688 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
13689 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
13690 the next inspection.
13692 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
13693 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
13694 We do have some breaches to this one.
13699 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
13700 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
13703 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
13704 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
13705 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
13706 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
13707 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
13712 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
13713 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
13718 @subsection Emacsen
13724 Gnus should work on :
13729 Emacs 19.32 and up.
13732 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
13735 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
13739 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
13740 reliably, at least.
13742 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
13743 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
13744 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
13749 @subsection Contributors
13750 @cindex contributors
13752 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
13753 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
13754 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
13755 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
13756 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
13757 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
13758 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
13759 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
13760 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
13761 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
13763 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
13769 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
13772 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
13773 well as numerous other things).
13776 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
13779 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
13782 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
13783 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
13786 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
13787 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
13790 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
13793 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
13796 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
13799 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
13802 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinsky---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
13803 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
13806 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
13809 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
13812 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
13815 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
13819 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
13822 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
13825 Ricardo Nassif, Mark Borges, and Jost Krieger---proof-reading.
13828 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
13831 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports.
13835 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
13844 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
13848 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
13863 Massimo Campostrini,
13867 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
13881 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
13883 François Felix Ingrand,
13884 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
13891 Peter Skov Knudsen,
13892 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
13893 Thor Kristoffersen,
13908 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
13909 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
13915 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
13920 John McClary Prevost,
13927 Philippe Schnoebelen,
13928 Randal L. Schwartz,
13946 Katsumi Yamaoka. @c Yamaoka
13948 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
13949 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
13950 (550kB and counting).
13952 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
13955 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
13956 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
13960 @subsection New Features
13961 @cindex new features
13964 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.4.27/5.1, the first new Gnus.
13965 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.4.27/5.3.
13966 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4.27/5.5.
13969 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
13970 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
13971 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
13975 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
13977 New features in Gnus 5.4.27/5.1:
13982 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
13983 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
13986 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
13987 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
13990 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
13993 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
13994 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
13995 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
13998 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
13999 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
14000 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
14001 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
14004 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
14005 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
14008 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
14009 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
14010 (@pxref{The Active File}).
14013 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
14014 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
14017 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
14018 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
14019 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14022 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
14023 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
14024 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
14027 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
14028 the @file{.emacs} file.
14031 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
14032 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14035 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
14036 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
14039 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
14040 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
14043 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
14044 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
14047 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
14048 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
14051 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
14054 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
14055 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
14058 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
14059 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
14062 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
14063 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
14066 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
14069 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
14070 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
14073 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
14077 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
14081 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
14082 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
14085 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
14091 @node September Gnus
14092 @subsubsection September Gnus
14094 New features in Gnus 5.4.27/5.3:
14099 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
14100 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
14104 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
14105 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
14109 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
14113 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
14114 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
14117 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
14121 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
14124 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
14127 A @code{trn}-line tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
14130 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
14134 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
14135 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
14138 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
14142 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
14146 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
14150 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
14154 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
14157 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
14158 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
14161 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
14165 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
14166 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
14169 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
14172 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
14173 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
14174 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
14177 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
14181 The Gnus cache is much faster.
14184 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
14188 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-address and
14189 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14192 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
14193 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
14196 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
14197 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14200 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
14201 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
14202 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
14205 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
14206 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
14209 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
14212 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
14215 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14216 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
14220 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
14223 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
14226 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
14227 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
14230 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
14234 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
14237 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
14240 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
14244 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
14247 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
14251 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
14254 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
14257 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
14258 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
14261 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
14262 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
14266 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
14267 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
14270 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
14274 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
14275 buffer to allow easier treatment.
14278 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
14281 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
14285 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
14289 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
14290 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
14293 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
14297 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
14298 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
14301 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
14302 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14305 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
14309 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
14312 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
14313 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
14317 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
14320 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
14326 @subsubsection Red Gnus
14328 New features in Gnus 5.4.27/5.5:
14333 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
14336 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
14337 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
14340 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
14341 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
14345 Article washing status can be displayed in the
14346 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
14349 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
14352 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
14353 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
14356 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
14360 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
14361 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}).
14364 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
14365 Server Internals}).
14368 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
14372 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
14375 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
14376 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
14379 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
14380 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
14381 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
14384 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
14385 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14388 A way to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed when
14389 generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
14392 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
14396 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
14397 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14400 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
14401 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
14404 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
14408 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
14411 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
14415 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
14416 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
14419 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
14420 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
14423 A new command for reading collections of documents
14424 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
14425 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
14428 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
14432 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
14433 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
14436 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
14437 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
14438 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
14441 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
14442 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
14446 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
14450 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
14454 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
14458 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
14462 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
14463 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
14466 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
14469 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
14475 @node Newest Features
14476 @subsection Newest Features
14479 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
14482 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
14486 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
14488 Really do unbinhexing.
14491 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
14492 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
14494 @file{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/rgnus/todo>} is where the actual
14495 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
14496 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
14501 @section The Manual
14505 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
14506 either @code{texi2dvi}
14508 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
14509 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
14511 to get what you hold in your hands now.
14513 The following conventions have been used:
14518 This is a @samp{string}
14521 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
14524 This is a @file{file}
14527 This is a @code{symbol}
14531 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
14535 (setq flargnoze "yes")
14538 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
14541 (setq flumphel 'yes)
14544 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
14545 ever get them confused.
14549 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
14550 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
14551 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
14552 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
14553 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
14554 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
14555 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
14562 @section Terminology
14564 @cindex terminology
14569 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
14570 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
14571 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
14572 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
14573 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
14577 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
14578 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
14579 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
14580 not posting, and replying is not following up.
14584 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
14588 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
14593 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
14594 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
14595 is all done by the backends.
14599 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
14600 default, way of getting news.
14604 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
14605 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
14609 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
14610 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
14614 A message that has been posted as news.
14617 @cindex mail message
14618 A message that has been mailed.
14622 A mail message or news article
14626 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
14631 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
14636 A line from the head of an article.
14640 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
14641 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
14645 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
14646 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
14647 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
14648 normal @sc{head} format.
14652 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
14653 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
14654 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
14655 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
14656 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
14657 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
14659 @item killed groups
14660 @cindex killed groups
14661 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
14662 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
14664 @item zombie groups
14665 @cindex zombie groups
14666 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
14669 @cindex active file
14670 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
14671 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
14672 is rather large, as you might surmise.
14675 @cindex bogus groups
14676 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
14677 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
14678 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
14682 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
14684 @item select method
14685 @cindex select method
14686 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
14689 @item virtual server
14690 @cindex virtual server
14691 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
14692 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the things as a
14693 whole is a virtual server.
14697 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
14698 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
14701 @item ephemeral groups
14702 @cindex ephemeral groups
14703 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
14704 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
14705 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
14708 @cindex solid groups
14709 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
14710 group buffer are solid groups.
14712 @item sparse articles
14713 @cindex sparse articles
14714 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
14715 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
14720 @node Customization
14721 @section Customization
14722 @cindex general customization
14724 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
14725 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
14726 for some quite common situations.
14729 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
14730 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
14731 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
14732 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
14736 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
14737 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
14739 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
14740 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
14741 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
14745 @item gnus-read-active-file
14746 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
14747 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
14748 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14749 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
14750 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
14752 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
14753 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
14754 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
14755 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
14759 @node Slow Terminal Connection
14760 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
14762 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
14763 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
14764 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
14768 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
14769 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
14770 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
14771 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
14772 horizontal and vertical recentering.
14774 @item gnus-visible-headers
14775 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
14776 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
14777 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
14778 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
14780 @item gnus-article-display-hook
14781 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
14783 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
14784 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
14785 gnus-article-hide-citation))
14788 @item gnus-use-full-window
14789 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
14790 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
14791 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
14792 want to read them anyway.
14794 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
14795 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
14798 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
14799 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
14800 lines, which might save some time.
14804 @node Little Disk Space
14805 @subsection Little Disk Space
14808 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
14809 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
14813 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
14814 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
14815 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
14816 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14819 @item gnus-save-killed-list
14820 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
14821 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
14822 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
14823 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
14829 @subsection Slow Machine
14830 @cindex slow machine
14832 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
14833 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
14835 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
14836 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
14838 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
14839 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
14840 summary buffer faster.
14842 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
14843 processing a bit faster.
14846 @node Troubleshooting
14847 @section Troubleshooting
14848 @cindex troubleshooting
14850 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
14858 Make sure your computer is switched on.
14861 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
14862 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
14866 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
14867 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
14868 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
14869 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
14872 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
14876 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
14877 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
14878 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
14879 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
14880 something like that.
14883 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
14886 @cindex reporting bugs
14888 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
14890 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
14891 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
14892 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
14893 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
14895 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
14896 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
14897 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
14898 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
14901 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
14902 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
14903 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
14904 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
14905 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
14906 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
14908 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
14909 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
14910 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
14913 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
14914 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
14916 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
14917 @cindex ding mailing list
14918 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
14919 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
14922 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
14923 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
14925 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
14926 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
14927 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
14928 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
14931 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
14932 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
14933 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
14934 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
14935 and general method of operations.
14938 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
14939 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
14940 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
14941 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
14942 * Group Info:: The group info format.
14943 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
14944 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
14948 @node Backend Interface
14949 @subsection Backend Interface
14951 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
14952 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
14953 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
14954 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
14955 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
14956 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
14958 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
14959 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
14960 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
14961 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
14962 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
14963 been opened, the function should fail.
14965 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
14966 name. Take this example:
14970 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
14971 (nntp-port-number 4324))
14974 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
14975 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
14977 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
14978 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
14979 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
14981 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
14982 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
14983 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
14985 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
14986 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
14987 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
14988 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
14989 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
14990 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
14993 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
14994 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
14995 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
14996 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
14999 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
15002 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
15005 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
15006 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
15007 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
15008 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
15009 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
15010 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
15014 @node Required Backend Functions
15015 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
15019 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
15021 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
15022 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
15023 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
15024 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
15026 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
15027 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
15028 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
15029 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
15031 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
15032 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
15033 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
15034 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
15035 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
15036 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
15037 number, do maximum fetches.
15039 Here's an example HEAD:
15042 221 1056 Article retrieved.
15043 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
15044 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
15045 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
15046 Subject: Re: Something very droll
15047 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
15048 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
15050 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
15051 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
15052 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
15056 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
15057 these in the data buffer.
15059 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
15063 head = error / valid-head
15064 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
15065 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
15066 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
15067 header = <text> eol
15070 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
15071 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
15075 nov-buffer = *nov-line
15076 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
15077 field = <text except TAB>
15080 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
15084 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
15086 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
15087 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
15089 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
15090 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
15091 server. In fact, it should do so.
15093 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
15094 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
15097 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
15099 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
15100 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
15103 There should be no data returned.
15106 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
15108 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
15109 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
15110 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
15111 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
15113 There should be no data returned.
15116 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
15118 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
15119 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
15120 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
15121 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
15123 There should be no data returned.
15126 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
15128 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
15130 There should be no data returned.
15133 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
15135 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
15136 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
15137 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
15138 it would be nice if that were possible.
15140 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
15141 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
15142 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
15143 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
15144 its article buffer.
15146 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
15147 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
15148 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
15149 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
15150 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
15151 on successful article retrievement.
15154 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
15156 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
15157 making @var{group} the current group.
15159 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
15162 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
15165 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
15168 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
15169 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
15170 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
15171 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
15172 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
15173 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
15174 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
15175 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
15178 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
15179 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
15180 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
15184 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
15186 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
15187 a no-op on most backends.
15189 There should be no data returned.
15192 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
15194 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
15197 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
15200 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
15201 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
15204 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
15205 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
15208 active-file = *active-line
15209 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
15211 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
15214 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
15215 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
15216 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
15219 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
15221 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
15222 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
15223 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
15224 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
15225 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
15226 clear if the posting could not be completed.
15228 There should be no result data from this function.
15233 @node Optional Backend Functions
15234 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
15238 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
15240 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
15241 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
15242 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
15244 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
15245 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
15246 former is in the same format as the data from
15247 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
15248 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
15251 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
15255 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
15257 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
15258 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
15259 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
15260 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
15261 should return the (altered) group info.
15263 There should be no result data from this function.
15266 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
15268 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
15269 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
15270 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
15271 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
15272 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
15273 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
15274 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
15275 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
15277 There should be no result data from this function.
15280 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
15282 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
15283 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
15284 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
15285 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
15286 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
15288 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
15289 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
15290 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
15293 There should be no result data from this function.
15296 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
15298 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
15299 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
15300 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
15301 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
15302 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
15303 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
15304 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
15306 There should be no result data from this function.
15309 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
15311 The result data from this function should be a description of
15315 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
15317 description = <text>
15320 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
15322 The result data from this function should be the description of all
15323 groups available on the server.
15326 description-buffer = *description-line
15330 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
15332 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
15333 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
15334 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
15337 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
15339 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
15341 There should be no return data.
15344 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
15346 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
15347 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
15348 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
15349 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
15350 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
15353 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
15356 There should be no result data returned.
15359 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
15362 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
15363 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
15365 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
15366 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
15367 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
15368 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
15369 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
15370 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
15372 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
15373 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
15376 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15377 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15379 There should be no data returned.
15382 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
15384 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
15385 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
15386 this function in short order.
15388 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
15389 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
15391 There should be no data returned.
15394 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
15396 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
15397 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
15399 There should be no data returned.
15402 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
15404 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
15405 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
15406 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
15408 There should be no data returned.
15411 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
15413 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
15414 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
15416 There should be no data returned.
15421 @node Error Messaging
15422 @subsubsection Error Messaging
15424 @findex nnheader-report
15425 @findex nnheader-get-report
15426 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
15427 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
15428 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
15429 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
15430 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
15431 This function always returns @code{nil}.
15434 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
15436 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
15439 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
15440 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
15441 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
15442 takes one argument---the server symbol.
15444 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
15445 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
15446 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
15449 @node Writing New Backends
15450 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
15452 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
15453 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
15454 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
15455 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
15456 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
15459 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
15460 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
15461 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
15463 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
15464 package called @code{nnoo}.
15466 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
15467 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
15474 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
15475 parameters. For instance:
15478 (nnoo-declare nndir
15482 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
15483 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
15486 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
15487 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
15488 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
15490 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
15491 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
15492 a function in those backends.
15495 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15496 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15497 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15500 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
15501 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
15502 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
15504 @item nnoo-define-basics
15505 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
15509 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15513 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
15514 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
15515 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
15517 @item nnoo-map-functions
15518 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
15519 functions from the parent backends.
15522 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15523 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15524 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
15527 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
15528 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
15529 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
15530 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
15533 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
15534 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
15535 haven't already been defined.
15541 nnmh-request-newgroups)
15545 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
15546 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
15547 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
15552 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
15555 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
15556 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
15560 (require 'nnheader)
15564 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
15566 (nnoo-declare nndir
15569 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
15570 "Where nndir will look for groups."
15571 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
15573 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
15574 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
15577 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
15578 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
15579 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
15581 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
15582 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
15584 ;;; Interface functions.
15586 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
15588 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
15589 (setq nndir-directory
15590 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
15592 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
15593 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
15594 (push `(nndir-current-group
15595 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15597 (push `(nndir-top-directory
15598 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
15600 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
15602 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
15603 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15604 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
15605 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
15606 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
15610 nnmh-status-message
15612 nnmh-request-newgroups))
15618 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15619 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
15621 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
15622 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
15623 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
15624 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
15626 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
15627 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
15632 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
15635 The abilities can be:
15639 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
15641 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
15643 This backend supports both mail and news.
15645 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
15648 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
15649 articles and groups.
15651 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
15652 true for almost all backends.
15653 @item prompt-address
15654 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
15655 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
15656 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
15660 @node Mail-like Backends
15661 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
15663 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
15664 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
15665 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
15666 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
15669 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
15670 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
15671 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
15674 It simply just calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will a few parameters,
15675 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
15678 This function takes four parameters.
15682 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
15685 @item exit-function
15686 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
15688 @item temp-directory
15689 Where the temporary files should be stored.
15692 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
15693 performed for one group only.
15696 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
15697 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
15698 find the article number assigned to this article.
15700 The function also uses the following variables:
15701 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
15702 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
15703 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
15704 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
15708 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
15709 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
15713 @node Score File Syntax
15714 @subsection Score File Syntax
15716 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
15717 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
15718 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
15720 Here's a typical score file:
15724 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
15731 BNF definition of a score file:
15734 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
15735 element = rule / atom
15736 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
15737 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
15738 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
15739 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
15741 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
15742 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
15743 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
15744 date-header = "date"
15745 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15746 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15747 score = "nil" / <integer>
15748 date = "nil" / <natural number>
15749 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
15750 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
15751 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
15752 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
15753 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15754 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15755 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
15756 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
15757 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
15758 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
15759 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
15760 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
15761 exclude-files / read-only / touched
15762 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
15763 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
15764 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
15765 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
15766 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
15767 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
15768 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
15769 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
15770 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
15771 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
15772 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
15773 eval = "eval" space <form>
15774 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
15777 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
15780 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
15781 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
15782 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
15783 one looong line, then that's ok.
15785 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
15790 @subsection Headers
15792 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
15793 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
15794 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
15795 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
15797 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
15798 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
15799 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
15800 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
15801 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
15802 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
15803 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
15805 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
15806 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
15807 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
15808 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
15809 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
15811 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
15818 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
15819 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
15821 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
15822 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
15823 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
15824 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
15826 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
15830 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
15833 is transformed into
15836 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
15839 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
15840 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
15843 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
15846 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
15847 is slightly tricky:
15850 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
15856 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
15859 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
15865 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
15872 and is equal to the previous range.
15874 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
15875 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
15876 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
15880 range = simple-range / normal-range
15881 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
15882 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
15883 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
15884 number *[ " " contents ]
15887 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
15888 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
15889 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
15890 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
15891 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
15896 @subsection Group Info
15898 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
15899 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
15900 describes the group.
15902 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
15903 second is a more complex one:
15906 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
15908 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
15909 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
15911 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
15914 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
15915 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
15916 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
15917 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
15918 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
15919 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
15920 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
15922 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
15923 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
15924 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
15926 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
15929 info = "(" group space level space read
15930 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
15931 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
15932 group = quote <string> quote
15933 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
15935 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
15936 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
15937 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
15938 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
15941 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
15942 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
15946 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
15947 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
15951 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
15952 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
15953 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
15955 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
15956 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
15957 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
15958 Gnus, that's very useful.
15960 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
15961 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
15962 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
15963 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
15964 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
15965 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
15966 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
15967 following function:
15970 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
15974 (,function ,@@args))
15978 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
15979 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
15980 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
15983 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
15984 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
15985 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
15988 @node Various File Formats
15989 @subsection Various File Formats
15992 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
15993 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
15997 @node Active File Format
15998 @subsubsection Active File Format
16000 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
16001 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
16004 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
16007 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
16008 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
16009 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
16010 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
16011 no.general 1000 900 y
16014 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
16017 active = *group-line
16018 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
16019 group = <non-white-space string>
16021 high-number = <non-negative integer>
16022 low-number = <positive integer>
16023 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
16027 @node Newsgroups File Format
16028 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
16030 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
16031 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
16032 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
16035 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
16036 Here's the definition:
16040 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
16041 group = <non-white-space string>
16043 description = <string>
16047 @node Emacs for Heathens
16048 @section Emacs for Heathens
16050 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
16051 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
16052 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
16053 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
16054 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
16055 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
16056 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
16060 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
16061 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
16066 @subsection Keystrokes
16070 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
16073 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
16076 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
16077 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
16078 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
16079 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
16080 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
16081 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
16083 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
16084 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
16085 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
16086 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
16087 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
16088 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
16089 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
16091 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
16092 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
16093 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
16094 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
16095 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
16096 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
16097 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
16099 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
16100 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
16101 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
16102 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
16103 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
16109 @subsection Emacs Lisp
16111 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
16112 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
16113 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
16114 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
16116 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
16117 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
16118 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
16119 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
16120 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
16121 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
16122 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
16125 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
16126 write the following:
16129 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
16132 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
16133 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
16134 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
16137 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
16138 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
16139 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
16140 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
16141 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
16143 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
16144 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
16145 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
16149 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
16153 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
16156 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
16157 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
16160 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
16163 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
16164 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
16167 @include gnus-faq.texi