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4 @settitle Gnus 5.6.15 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The news reader Gnus.
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262 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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271 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
273 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
274 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
275 are preserved on all copies.
277 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
278 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
279 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
280 permission notice identical to this one.
282 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
283 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
292 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
294 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
297 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
298 are preserved on all copies.
301 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
302 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
303 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
304 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
308 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
309 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
310 permission notice identical to this one.
312 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
313 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
319 @title Gnus 5.6.15 Manual
321 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
324 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
325 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
327 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
328 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
329 are preserved on all copies.
331 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
332 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
333 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
334 permission notice identical to this one.
336 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
337 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
346 @top The Gnus Newsreader
350 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
351 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
352 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
355 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.6.15.
366 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
367 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
369 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
370 being accused of plagiarism:
372 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
373 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
374 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
375 even read news with it!
377 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
378 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
379 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
380 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
381 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
388 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
389 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
390 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
391 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
392 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
393 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
394 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
395 * Various:: General purpose settings.
396 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
397 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
398 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
399 * Key Index:: Key Index.
403 @chapter Starting Gnus
408 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
409 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
412 @findex gnus-other-frame
413 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
414 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
415 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
417 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
418 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
419 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
421 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
422 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
425 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
426 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
427 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
428 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
429 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
430 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
431 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
432 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
433 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
434 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
435 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
439 @node Finding the News
440 @section Finding the News
443 @vindex gnus-select-method
445 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
446 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
447 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
448 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
451 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
452 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
455 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
458 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
461 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
464 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
465 certainly be much faster.
467 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
469 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
470 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
471 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
472 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
473 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
474 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
476 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
477 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
478 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
479 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
481 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
482 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
483 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
484 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
485 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
486 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
488 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
490 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
491 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
492 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
493 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
494 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
495 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
497 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
499 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
500 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
501 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
502 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
503 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
504 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
507 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
508 would typically set this variable to
511 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
516 @section The First Time
517 @cindex first time usage
519 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
520 be subscribed by default.
522 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
523 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
524 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
525 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
528 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
529 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
530 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
532 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
533 help you with most common problems.
535 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
536 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
540 @node The Server is Down
541 @section The Server is Down
542 @cindex server errors
544 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
545 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
546 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
548 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
549 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
550 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
551 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
552 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
553 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
554 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
556 @findex gnus-no-server
557 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
559 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
560 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
561 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
562 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
563 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
564 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
569 @section Slave Gnusae
572 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
573 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
574 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
575 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
577 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
580 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
581 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
582 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
583 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
584 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
585 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
586 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
588 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
589 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
590 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
591 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
592 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
593 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
594 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
595 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
597 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
598 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
601 @node Fetching a Group
602 @section Fetching a Group
603 @cindex fetching a group
605 @findex gnus-fetch-group
606 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
607 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
608 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
609 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
610 It takes the group name as a parameter.
618 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
619 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
620 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
621 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
622 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
623 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
624 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
625 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
626 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
629 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
630 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
631 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
635 @node Checking New Groups
636 @subsection Checking New Groups
638 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
639 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
640 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
641 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
642 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
643 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
644 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
645 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
646 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
647 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
649 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
650 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
651 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
652 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
653 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
654 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
655 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
656 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
657 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
658 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
659 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
661 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
662 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
663 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
664 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
665 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
666 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
669 @node Subscription Methods
670 @subsection Subscription Methods
672 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
673 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
674 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
676 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
677 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
679 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
683 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
684 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
685 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
686 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
687 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
689 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
690 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
691 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
692 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
694 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
695 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
696 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
698 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
699 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
700 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
701 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
702 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
703 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
704 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
705 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
706 up. Or something like that.
708 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
709 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
710 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
711 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
712 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
714 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
715 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
720 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
721 A closely related variable is
722 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
723 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
724 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
725 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
728 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
729 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
730 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
731 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
734 @node Filtering New Groups
735 @subsection Filtering New Groups
737 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
738 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
739 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
742 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
745 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
746 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
747 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
748 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
749 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
750 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
751 subscribing these groups.
752 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
753 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
755 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
756 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
757 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
758 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
759 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
760 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
761 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
762 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
764 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
765 Yet another variable that meddles here is
766 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
767 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
768 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
769 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
770 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
771 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
772 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
773 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
775 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
776 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
779 @node Changing Servers
780 @section Changing Servers
781 @cindex changing servers
783 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
784 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
785 very flaky and you want to use another.
787 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
788 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
792 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
793 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
794 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
795 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
798 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
799 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
800 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
801 functions more than absolutely necessary.
803 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
804 @findex gnus-change-server
805 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
806 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
807 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
808 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
809 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
811 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
812 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
813 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
814 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
815 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
817 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
818 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
819 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
820 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
821 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
822 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
826 @section Startup Files
827 @cindex startup files
832 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
833 information is traditionally stored in this file.
835 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
836 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
837 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
838 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
839 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
840 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
841 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
843 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
844 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
845 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
846 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
847 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
848 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
850 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
851 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
852 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
853 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
854 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
855 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
857 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
858 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
859 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
860 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
861 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
862 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
863 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
864 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
865 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
866 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
867 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
868 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
870 @vindex gnus-startup-file
871 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
872 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
873 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
875 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
876 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
877 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
878 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
879 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
880 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
881 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
882 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
883 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
884 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
887 (defun turn-off-backup ()
888 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
890 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
891 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
894 @vindex gnus-init-file
895 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
896 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
897 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
898 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
899 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
900 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
901 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
902 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
903 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
912 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
913 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
914 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
915 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
916 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
919 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
920 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
923 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
924 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
925 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
927 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
928 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
929 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
930 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
931 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
932 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
934 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
935 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
936 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
939 @node The Active File
940 @section The Active File
942 @cindex ignored groups
944 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
945 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
946 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
948 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
949 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
950 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
951 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
952 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
953 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
954 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
957 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
958 @c if you set it to anything else.
960 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
962 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
963 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
964 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
966 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
967 you actually subscribe to.
969 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
970 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
971 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
972 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
974 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
975 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
976 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
977 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
978 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
979 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
981 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
982 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
983 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
984 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
985 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
986 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
988 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
989 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
991 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
992 secondary select methods.
995 @node Startup Variables
996 @section Startup Variables
1000 @item gnus-load-hook
1001 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1002 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1003 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1004 times you start Gnus.
1006 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1007 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1008 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1010 @item gnus-startup-hook
1011 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1012 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1014 @item gnus-started-hook
1015 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1016 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1019 @item gnus-started-hook
1020 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1021 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1022 generating the group buffer.
1024 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1025 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1026 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1027 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1028 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1029 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1030 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1031 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1033 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1034 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1035 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1036 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1037 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1038 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1040 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1041 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1042 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1044 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1045 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1046 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1048 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1049 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1050 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1051 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1056 @node The Group Buffer
1057 @chapter The Group Buffer
1058 @cindex group buffer
1060 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1061 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1062 long as Gnus is active.
1066 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1067 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1068 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1069 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1070 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1071 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1072 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1073 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1079 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1080 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1081 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1082 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1083 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1084 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1085 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1086 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1087 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1088 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1089 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1090 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1091 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1092 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1093 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1094 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1095 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1099 @node Group Buffer Format
1100 @section Group Buffer Format
1103 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1104 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1105 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1109 @node Group Line Specification
1110 @subsection Group Line Specification
1111 @cindex group buffer format
1113 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1114 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1116 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1119 25: news.announce.newusers
1120 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1125 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1126 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1127 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1128 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1130 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1131 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1132 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1133 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1134 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1135 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1137 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1139 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1140 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1141 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1142 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1145 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1146 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1147 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1149 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1154 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1157 Whether the group is subscribed.
1160 Level of subscribedness.
1163 Number of unread articles.
1166 Number of dormant articles.
1169 Number of ticked articles.
1172 Number of read articles.
1175 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1176 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1179 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1182 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1191 Newsgroup description.
1194 @samp{m} if moderated.
1197 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1206 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1210 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1213 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1214 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1215 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1216 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1217 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1220 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1222 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1226 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1230 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1231 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1232 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1233 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1234 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1235 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1240 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1241 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1242 group, or a bogus native group.
1245 @node Group Modeline Specification
1246 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1247 @cindex group modeline
1249 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1250 The mode line can be changed by setting
1251 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1252 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1256 The native news server.
1258 The native select method.
1262 @node Group Highlighting
1263 @subsection Group Highlighting
1264 @cindex highlighting
1265 @cindex group highlighting
1267 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1268 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1269 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1270 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1271 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1273 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1277 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1278 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1279 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1280 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1281 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1283 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1284 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1285 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1286 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1287 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1288 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1291 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1293 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1300 The number of unread articles in the group.
1304 Whether the group is a mail group.
1306 The level of the group.
1308 The score of the group.
1310 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1312 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1313 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1315 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1316 topic being inserted.
1319 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1320 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1321 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1323 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1324 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1325 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1326 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1327 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1330 @node Group Maneuvering
1331 @section Group Maneuvering
1332 @cindex group movement
1334 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1335 expected, hopefully.
1341 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1342 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1343 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1349 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1350 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1351 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1355 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1356 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1360 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1361 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1365 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1366 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1367 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1371 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1372 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1373 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1376 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1382 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1383 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1384 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1389 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1390 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1391 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1395 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1396 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1397 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1400 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1401 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1402 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1403 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1407 @node Selecting a Group
1408 @section Selecting a Group
1409 @cindex group selection
1414 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1415 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1416 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1417 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1418 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1419 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1420 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1421 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1422 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1423 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1427 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1428 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1429 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1430 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1431 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1435 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1436 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1437 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1438 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1439 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1440 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1441 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1442 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1443 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1444 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1447 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1448 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1449 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1450 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1451 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1454 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1455 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1456 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1457 doing any processing of its contents
1458 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1459 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1460 manner will have no permanent effects.
1464 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1465 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1466 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1467 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1468 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1469 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1470 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1471 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1474 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1475 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1476 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1477 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1482 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1483 full summary buffer.
1486 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1489 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1493 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1494 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1495 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1499 @node Subscription Commands
1500 @section Subscription Commands
1501 @cindex subscription
1509 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1510 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1511 Toggle subscription to the current group
1512 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1518 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1519 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1520 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1521 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1527 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1528 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1529 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1535 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1536 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1539 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1540 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1541 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1542 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1543 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1549 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1550 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1554 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1555 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1558 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1559 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1560 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1561 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1562 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1563 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1564 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1565 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1566 @file{.newsrc} file.
1570 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1580 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1581 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1582 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1583 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1584 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1585 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1590 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1591 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1592 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1596 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1597 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1598 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1600 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1601 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1602 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1603 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1604 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1605 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1612 @section Group Levels
1616 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1617 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1618 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1619 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1620 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1622 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1628 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1629 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1630 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1631 prompted for a level.
1634 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1635 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1636 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1637 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1638 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1639 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1640 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1641 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1642 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1643 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1644 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1645 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1646 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1647 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1648 reasons of efficiency.
1650 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1651 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1653 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1654 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1655 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1657 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1658 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1659 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1660 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1661 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1662 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1663 relevant valid ranges.
1665 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1666 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1667 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1668 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1669 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1670 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1673 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1674 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1675 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1678 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1679 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1680 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1681 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1684 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1685 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1686 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1687 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1689 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1690 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1691 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1692 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1693 to 5. The default is 6.
1697 @section Group Score
1702 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1703 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1704 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1707 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1708 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1709 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1710 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1711 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1712 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1713 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1715 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1716 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1717 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1718 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1719 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1720 action after each summary exit, you can add
1721 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1722 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1723 slow things down somewhat.
1726 @node Marking Groups
1727 @section Marking Groups
1728 @cindex marking groups
1730 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1731 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1732 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1733 bidding on those groups.
1735 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1736 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1737 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1745 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1746 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1752 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1753 Remove the mark from the current group
1754 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1758 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1759 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1763 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1764 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1768 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1769 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1773 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1774 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1775 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1778 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1780 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1781 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1782 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1783 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1784 the command to be executed.
1787 @node Foreign Groups
1788 @section Foreign Groups
1789 @cindex foreign groups
1791 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1792 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1793 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1794 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1801 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1802 @cindex making groups
1803 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1804 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1805 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1809 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1810 @cindex renaming groups
1811 Rename the current group to something else
1812 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1813 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1819 @findex gnus-group-customize
1820 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1824 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1825 @cindex renaming groups
1826 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1827 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1831 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1832 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1833 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1837 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1838 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1839 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1843 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1845 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1846 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1851 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1852 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1856 @cindex (ding) archive
1857 @cindex archive group
1858 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1859 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1860 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1861 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1862 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1863 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1864 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1868 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1870 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1871 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1872 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1873 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1877 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1879 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1880 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1881 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1885 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1886 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1888 Make a group based on some file or other
1889 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1890 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1891 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1892 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1893 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1894 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1895 @xref{Document Groups}.
1899 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1904 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1905 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1906 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1907 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1908 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1909 @xref{Web Searches}.
1911 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1912 to a particular group by using a match string like
1913 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1916 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1917 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1918 This function will delete the current group
1919 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1920 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1921 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1922 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1923 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1927 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1928 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1929 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1933 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1934 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1935 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1938 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1941 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1942 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1943 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1944 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1945 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1946 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1950 @node Group Parameters
1951 @section Group Parameters
1952 @cindex group parameters
1954 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1955 Here's an example group parameter list:
1958 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1962 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
1963 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
1964 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
1965 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
1967 The following group parameters can be used:
1972 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
1975 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
1978 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
1979 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
1980 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
1981 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
1982 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
1984 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1985 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1986 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1987 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1988 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1989 list address instead.
1993 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
1996 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
1999 It is totally ignored
2000 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2001 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2003 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2004 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2005 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2006 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2007 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2009 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2010 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2011 sending the message.
2015 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2016 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2017 of whether it has any unread articles.
2019 @item broken-reply-to
2020 @cindex broken-reply-to
2021 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2022 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2023 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2024 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2025 broken behavior. So there!
2029 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2030 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2034 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2035 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2036 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2041 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2042 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2043 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2044 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2045 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2046 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2047 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2051 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2052 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2053 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2056 @cindex total-expire
2057 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2058 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2059 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2060 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2065 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2066 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2067 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2068 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2069 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2070 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2073 @cindex score file group parameter
2074 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2075 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2076 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2079 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2080 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2081 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2082 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2085 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2086 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2087 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2088 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2091 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2092 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2096 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2099 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2104 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2105 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2106 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2109 @item @var{(variable form)}
2110 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2111 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2112 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2113 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2114 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2115 @code{eval}ed there.
2117 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2118 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2119 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2120 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2121 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2125 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2126 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2130 @node Listing Groups
2131 @section Listing Groups
2132 @cindex group listing
2134 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2142 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2143 List all groups that have unread articles
2144 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2145 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2146 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2147 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2154 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2155 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2156 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2157 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2158 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2159 unsubscribed groups).
2163 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2164 List all unread groups on a specific level
2165 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2166 with no unread articles.
2170 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2171 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2172 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2173 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2178 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2179 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2183 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2184 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2185 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2189 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2190 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2194 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2195 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2196 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2197 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2198 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2199 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2200 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2201 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2205 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2206 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2207 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2211 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2212 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2213 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2217 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2218 @cindex visible group parameter
2219 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2220 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2221 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2222 get the same effect.
2224 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2225 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2226 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2227 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2228 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2231 @node Sorting Groups
2232 @section Sorting Groups
2233 @cindex sorting groups
2235 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2236 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2237 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2238 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2239 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2240 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2245 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2246 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2247 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2249 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2250 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2251 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2253 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2254 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2255 Sort by group level.
2257 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2258 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2259 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2261 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2262 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2263 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2264 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2266 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2267 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2268 Sort by number of unread articles.
2270 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2271 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2272 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2277 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2278 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2282 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2283 some sorting criteria:
2287 @kindex G S a (Group)
2288 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2289 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2290 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2293 @kindex G S u (Group)
2294 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2295 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2296 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2299 @kindex G S l (Group)
2300 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2301 Sort the group buffer by group level
2302 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2305 @kindex G S v (Group)
2306 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2307 Sort the group buffer by group score
2308 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2311 @kindex G S r (Group)
2312 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2313 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2314 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2317 @kindex G S m (Group)
2318 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2319 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2320 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2324 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2326 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2330 @kindex G P a (Group)
2331 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2332 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2333 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2336 @kindex G P u (Group)
2337 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2338 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2339 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2342 @kindex G P l (Group)
2343 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2344 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2345 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2348 @kindex G P v (Group)
2349 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2350 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2351 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2354 @kindex G P r (Group)
2355 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2356 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2357 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2360 @kindex G P m (Group)
2361 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2362 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2363 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2369 @node Group Maintenance
2370 @section Group Maintenance
2371 @cindex bogus groups
2376 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2377 Find bogus groups and delete them
2378 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2382 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2383 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2384 If given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2388 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2389 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2390 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2391 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2394 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2395 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2396 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2397 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2402 @node Browse Foreign Server
2403 @section Browse Foreign Server
2404 @cindex foreign servers
2405 @cindex browsing servers
2410 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2411 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2412 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2413 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2416 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2417 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2418 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2419 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2421 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2426 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2427 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2431 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2432 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2435 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2436 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2437 Enter the current group and display the first article
2438 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2441 @kindex RET (Browse)
2442 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2443 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2447 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2448 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2449 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2455 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2456 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2460 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2461 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2462 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2467 @section Exiting Gnus
2468 @cindex exiting Gnus
2470 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2475 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2476 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2477 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2478 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2482 @findex gnus-group-exit
2483 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2484 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2488 @findex gnus-group-quit
2489 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2490 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2493 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2494 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2495 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2496 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2497 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2502 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2503 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2504 trying to customize meta-variables.
2509 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2510 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2511 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2517 @section Group Topics
2520 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2521 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2522 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2523 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2524 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2525 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2529 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2530 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2541 2: alt.religion.emacs
2544 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2546 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2547 13: comp.sources.unix
2550 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2552 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2553 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2554 is a toggling command.)
2556 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2557 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2558 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2559 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2562 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2563 the hook for the group mode:
2566 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2570 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2571 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2572 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2573 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2574 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2578 @node Topic Variables
2579 @subsection Topic Variables
2580 @cindex topic variables
2582 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2583 really neat, I think.
2585 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2586 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2587 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2600 Number of groups in the topic.
2602 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2604 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2607 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2608 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2609 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2612 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2613 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2615 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2616 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2617 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2620 @node Topic Commands
2621 @subsection Topic Commands
2622 @cindex topic commands
2624 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2625 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2626 definitions slightly.
2632 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2633 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2634 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2638 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2639 Move the current group to some other topic
2640 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2641 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2645 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2646 Copy the current group to some other topic
2647 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2648 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2652 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2653 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2654 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2655 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2659 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2660 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2661 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2665 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2666 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2667 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2671 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2672 Toggle hiding empty topics
2673 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2677 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2678 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2679 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2682 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2683 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2684 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2685 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2689 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2691 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2692 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2693 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2694 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2695 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2696 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2699 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2700 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2701 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2702 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2703 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2707 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2708 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2709 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2713 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2714 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2715 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2720 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2721 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2724 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2725 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2726 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2730 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2731 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2732 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2736 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2737 @cindex group parameters
2738 @cindex topic parameters
2740 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2741 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2747 @subsection Topic Sorting
2748 @cindex topic sorting
2750 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2756 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2757 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2758 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2759 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2762 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2763 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2764 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2765 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2768 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2769 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2770 Sort the current topic by group level
2771 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2774 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2775 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2776 Sort the current topic by group score
2777 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2780 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2781 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2782 Sort the current topic by group rank
2783 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2786 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2787 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2788 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2789 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2793 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2796 @node Topic Topology
2797 @subsection Topic Topology
2798 @cindex topic topology
2801 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2807 2: alt.religion.emacs
2810 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2812 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2813 13: comp.sources.unix
2816 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2817 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2818 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2823 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2824 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2828 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2829 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2830 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2831 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2832 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2833 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2835 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2836 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2837 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2840 @node Topic Parameters
2841 @subsection Topic Parameters
2842 @cindex topic parameters
2844 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2845 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2846 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2848 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2849 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2850 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2851 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2857 2: alt.religion.emacs
2861 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2863 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2864 13: comp.sources.unix
2868 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2869 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2870 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2871 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2872 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2873 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2875 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2876 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2877 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2878 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2879 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2881 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2882 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2883 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2884 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2885 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2886 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2887 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2888 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2891 @node Misc Group Stuff
2892 @section Misc Group Stuff
2895 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2896 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2897 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2898 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2905 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2906 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2907 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2911 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2912 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2913 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2917 @findex gnus-group-mail
2918 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2922 Variables for the group buffer:
2926 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2927 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2928 is called after the group buffer has been
2931 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2932 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2933 is called after the group buffer is
2934 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2937 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2938 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2939 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2940 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2942 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2943 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2944 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2945 whether they are empty or not.
2950 @node Scanning New Messages
2951 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2952 @cindex new messages
2953 @cindex scanning new news
2959 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2960 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2961 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2962 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2963 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2964 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2969 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2970 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2971 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2972 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2973 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
2974 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
2975 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
2977 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2978 @cindex activating groups
2980 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2981 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2986 @findex gnus-group-restart
2987 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
2988 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
2989 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
2993 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2994 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2996 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2997 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3001 @node Group Information
3002 @subsection Group Information
3003 @cindex group information
3004 @cindex information on groups
3011 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3012 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3015 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3016 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3017 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3018 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3019 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3020 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3021 for fetching the file.
3023 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3024 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3028 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3030 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3031 @cindex describing groups
3032 @cindex group description
3033 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3034 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3035 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3039 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3040 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3041 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3048 @findex gnus-version
3049 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3053 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3054 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3057 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3060 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3061 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3065 @node Group Timestamp
3066 @subsection Group Timestamp
3068 @cindex group timestamps
3070 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3071 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3072 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3075 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3078 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3080 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3081 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3084 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3085 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3088 This will result in lines looking like:
3091 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3092 0: custom 19961002T012713
3095 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3096 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3100 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3101 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3106 @subsection File Commands
3107 @cindex file commands
3113 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3114 @vindex gnus-init-file
3115 @cindex reading init file
3116 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3117 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3121 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3122 @cindex saving .newsrc
3123 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3124 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3125 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3128 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3129 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3130 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3135 @node The Summary Buffer
3136 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3137 @cindex summary buffer
3139 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3140 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3142 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3143 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3145 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3148 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3149 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3150 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3151 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3152 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3153 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3154 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3155 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3156 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3157 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3158 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3159 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3160 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3161 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3162 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3163 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3164 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3165 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3166 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3167 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3168 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3169 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3170 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3171 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3172 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3173 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3174 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3178 @node Summary Buffer Format
3179 @section Summary Buffer Format
3180 @cindex summary buffer format
3184 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3185 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3186 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3192 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3193 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3194 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3197 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3198 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3199 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3200 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3201 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3202 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3203 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3204 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3205 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3206 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3207 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
3209 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3210 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3211 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3212 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3215 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3216 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3218 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3219 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3220 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3221 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3222 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3224 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3226 The following format specification characters are understood:
3234 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3235 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3236 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3238 Full @code{From} header.
3240 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3242 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3243 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3244 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3245 may be more thorough.
3247 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3250 Number of lines in the article.
3252 Number of characters in the article.
3254 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3256 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3257 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3259 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3260 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3262 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3263 for adopted articles.
3265 One space for each thread level.
3267 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3272 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3273 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3277 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3279 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3280 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3281 default level. If the difference between
3282 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
3283 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3291 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3293 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3299 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3300 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3302 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3303 article has any children.
3309 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3310 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3311 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3312 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3313 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3314 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3317 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3318 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3319 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3320 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3321 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3322 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3324 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3325 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3327 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3330 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3331 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3333 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3334 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
3335 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
3336 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3338 Here are the elements you can play with:
3344 Unprefixed group name.
3346 Current article number.
3350 Number of unread articles in this group.
3352 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3355 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3356 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3357 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3358 and no unselected ones.
3360 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3361 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3363 Subject of the current article.
3365 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3367 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3369 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3371 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3373 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3375 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3379 @node Summary Highlighting
3380 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3384 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3385 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3386 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3387 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3388 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3390 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3391 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3392 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3393 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3395 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3396 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3397 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3398 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3400 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3401 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3402 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3403 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3404 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3405 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3407 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3408 ((> score default) . bold))
3410 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3411 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3415 @node Summary Maneuvering
3416 @section Summary Maneuvering
3417 @cindex summary movement
3419 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3420 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3422 None of these commands select articles.
3427 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3428 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3429 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3430 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3431 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3435 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3436 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3437 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3438 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3439 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3444 @kindex G j (Summary)
3445 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3446 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3447 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3450 @kindex G g (Summary)
3451 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3452 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3453 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3456 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3457 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3458 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3459 to the group buffer.
3461 Variables related to summary movement:
3465 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3466 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3467 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3468 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3469 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3470 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3471 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3472 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3473 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3474 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3475 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3476 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3477 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3478 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3480 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3481 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3482 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3483 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3484 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3485 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
3486 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3488 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3489 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3490 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3491 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3492 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3494 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3495 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3496 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3497 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3498 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3499 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3500 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3501 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3507 @node Choosing Articles
3508 @section Choosing Articles
3509 @cindex selecting articles
3512 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3513 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3517 @node Choosing Commands
3518 @subsection Choosing Commands
3520 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3521 and they all select and display an article.
3525 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3526 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3527 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3528 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3533 @kindex G n (Summary)
3534 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3535 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3536 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3541 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3542 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3543 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3548 @kindex G N (Summary)
3549 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3550 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3555 @kindex G P (Summary)
3556 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3557 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3560 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3561 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3562 Go to the next article with the same subject
3563 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3566 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3567 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3568 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3569 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3573 @kindex G f (Summary)
3575 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3576 Go to the first unread article
3577 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3581 @kindex G b (Summary)
3583 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3584 Go to the article with the highest score
3585 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3590 @kindex G l (Summary)
3591 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3592 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3595 @kindex G o (Summary)
3596 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3598 @cindex article history
3599 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3600 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3601 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3602 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3603 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3604 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3608 @node Choosing Variables
3609 @subsection Choosing Variables
3611 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3614 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3615 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3616 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3617 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3618 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3619 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3621 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3622 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3623 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3624 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3626 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3627 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3628 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3629 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3630 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3631 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3632 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3633 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3634 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3635 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3636 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3637 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3638 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3639 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3644 @node Paging the Article
3645 @section Scrolling the Article
3646 @cindex article scrolling
3651 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3652 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3653 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3654 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3655 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3658 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3659 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3660 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3663 @kindex RET (Summary)
3664 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3665 Scroll the current article one line forward
3666 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3670 @kindex A g (Summary)
3672 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3673 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3674 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3675 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3676 the way it came from the server.
3681 @kindex A < (Summary)
3682 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3683 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3684 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3689 @kindex A > (Summary)
3690 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3691 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3695 @kindex A s (Summary)
3697 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3698 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3699 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3703 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3704 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3709 @node Reply Followup and Post
3710 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3713 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3714 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3718 @node Summary Mail Commands
3719 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3721 @cindex composing mail
3723 Commands for composing a mail message:
3729 @kindex S r (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3732 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3733 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3734 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3735 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3740 @kindex S R (Summary)
3741 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3742 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3743 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3744 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3745 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3748 @kindex S w (Summary)
3749 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3750 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3751 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3752 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3753 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3756 @kindex S W (Summary)
3757 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3758 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3759 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3760 the process/prefix convention.
3763 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3764 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3765 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3766 Forward the current article to some other person
3767 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3768 headers of the forwarded article.
3773 @kindex S m (Summary)
3774 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3775 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3776 Send a mail to some other person
3777 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3780 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3781 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3782 @cindex bouncing mail
3783 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3784 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3785 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3786 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3787 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3788 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3789 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3790 very well fail, though.
3793 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3794 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3795 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3796 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3797 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3798 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3799 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3800 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3801 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3802 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3804 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3805 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3806 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3807 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3808 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3810 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3811 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3814 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3815 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3816 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3817 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3818 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3821 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3822 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3823 @cindex crossposting
3824 @cindex excessive crossposting
3825 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3826 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3828 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3829 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3830 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3831 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3832 command understands the process/prefix convention
3833 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3837 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3840 @node Summary Post Commands
3841 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3843 @cindex composing news
3845 Commands for posting a news article:
3851 @kindex S p (Summary)
3852 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3853 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3854 Post an article to the current group
3855 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3860 @kindex S f (Summary)
3861 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3862 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3863 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3867 @kindex S F (Summary)
3869 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3870 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3871 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3872 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3873 process/prefix convention.
3876 @kindex S n (Summary)
3877 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3878 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3879 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3882 @kindex S N (Summary)
3883 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3884 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3885 message through mail and include the original message
3886 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3887 the process/prefix convention.
3890 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3891 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3892 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3893 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3894 headers of the forwarded article.
3897 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3898 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3900 @cindex making digests
3901 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3902 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3903 process/prefix convention.
3906 @kindex S u (Summary)
3907 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3908 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3909 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3910 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3913 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3916 @node Canceling and Superseding
3917 @section Canceling Articles
3918 @cindex canceling articles
3919 @cindex superseding articles
3921 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3922 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3924 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3926 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3928 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3929 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3930 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3931 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3932 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3933 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3935 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3936 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3939 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
3940 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3941 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3943 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3944 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3945 your original article.
3947 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3949 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3950 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3951 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3954 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3955 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3956 have posted almost the same article twice.
3958 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3959 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3960 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3961 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3962 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3963 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3964 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3965 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3966 you would do normally. The previous article will be
3967 canceled/superseded.
3969 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3972 @node Marking Articles
3973 @section Marking Articles
3974 @cindex article marking
3975 @cindex article ticking
3978 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3980 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3981 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3982 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3984 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3987 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3988 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3989 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3993 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3997 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3998 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4002 @node Unread Articles
4003 @subsection Unread Articles
4005 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4010 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4011 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4013 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4014 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4015 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4016 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4017 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4021 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4022 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4024 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4025 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4026 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4029 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4030 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4032 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4037 @subsection Read Articles
4038 @cindex expirable mark
4040 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4045 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4046 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4047 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4050 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4051 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4054 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4055 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4056 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4059 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4060 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4063 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4064 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4067 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4068 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4071 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4072 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4075 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4076 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4079 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4080 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4083 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4084 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4088 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4089 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4090 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4094 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4095 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4097 One more special mark, though:
4101 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4102 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4104 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4105 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4106 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4107 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4113 @subsection Other Marks
4114 @cindex process mark
4117 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4123 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4124 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4125 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4126 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4127 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4130 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4131 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4132 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4133 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4136 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4137 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4138 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4141 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4142 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4143 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4144 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4147 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4148 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4149 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4150 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4151 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4154 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4155 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4156 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4157 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4158 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4159 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4163 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4164 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4165 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4167 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4168 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4169 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4173 @subsection Setting Marks
4174 @cindex setting marks
4176 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4181 @kindex M c (Summary)
4182 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4183 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4184 @cindex mark as unread
4185 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4186 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4192 @kindex M t (Summary)
4193 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4194 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4195 @xref{Article Caching}
4200 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4201 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4202 Mark the current article as dormant
4203 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4207 @kindex M d (Summary)
4209 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4210 Mark the current article as read
4211 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4215 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4216 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4217 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4222 @kindex M k (Summary)
4223 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4224 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4225 and then select the next unread article
4226 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4230 @kindex M K (Summary)
4231 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4232 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4233 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4234 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4237 @kindex M C (Summary)
4238 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4239 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4240 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4243 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4244 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4245 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4246 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4249 @kindex M H (Summary)
4250 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4251 Catchup the current group to point
4252 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4255 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4256 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4257 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4258 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4261 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4262 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4263 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4264 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4268 @kindex M e (Summary)
4270 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4271 Mark the current article as expirable
4272 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4275 @kindex M b (Summary)
4276 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4277 Set a bookmark in the current article
4278 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4281 @kindex M B (Summary)
4282 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4283 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4284 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4287 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4288 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4289 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4290 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4293 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4294 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4295 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4296 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4299 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4300 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4301 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4302 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4303 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4306 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4307 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4308 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4309 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4310 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4311 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4312 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4313 The default is @code{t}.
4316 @node Setting Process Marks
4317 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4318 @cindex setting process marks
4325 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4326 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4327 Mark the current article with the process mark
4328 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4329 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4333 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4334 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4335 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4336 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4339 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4340 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4341 Remove the process mark from all articles
4342 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4345 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4346 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4347 Invert the list of process marked articles
4348 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4351 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4352 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4353 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4354 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4357 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4358 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4359 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4362 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4363 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4364 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4365 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4368 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4369 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4370 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4371 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4374 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4375 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4376 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4377 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4380 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4381 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4382 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4385 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4386 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4387 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4388 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4391 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4392 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4393 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4396 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4397 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4398 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4399 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4402 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4403 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4404 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4405 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4408 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4409 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4410 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4411 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4414 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4416 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4417 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4426 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4427 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4428 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4431 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4432 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4433 additional articles.
4439 @kindex / / (Summary)
4440 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4441 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4442 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4445 @kindex / a (Summary)
4446 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4447 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4448 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4452 @kindex / u (Summary)
4454 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4455 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4456 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4457 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4458 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4461 @kindex / m (Summary)
4462 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4463 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4464 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4467 @kindex / t (Summary)
4468 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4469 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4470 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4471 articles younger than that number of days.
4474 @kindex / n (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4476 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4477 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4478 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4481 @kindex / w (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4483 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4484 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4488 @kindex / v (Summary)
4489 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4490 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4491 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4495 @kindex M S (Summary)
4496 @kindex / E (Summary)
4497 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4498 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4499 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4502 @kindex / D (Summary)
4503 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4504 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4505 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4508 @kindex / * (Summary)
4509 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4510 Include all cached articles in the limit
4511 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4514 @kindex / d (Summary)
4515 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4516 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4517 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4520 @kindex / T (Summary)
4521 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4522 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4525 @kindex / c (Summary)
4526 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4527 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4528 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4531 @kindex / C (Summary)
4532 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4533 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4534 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4535 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4543 @cindex article threading
4545 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4546 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4547 hierarchical fashion.
4549 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4550 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4551 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4552 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4553 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4554 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4555 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4557 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4561 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4564 A tree-like article structure.
4567 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4570 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4571 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4572 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4573 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4574 called loose threads.
4576 @item thread gathering
4577 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4579 @item sparse threads
4580 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4581 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4587 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4588 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4592 @node Customizing Threading
4593 @subsection Customizing Threading
4594 @cindex customizing threading
4597 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4598 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4599 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4600 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4605 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4608 @cindex loose threads
4611 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4612 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4613 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4614 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4615 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4616 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4618 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4619 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4620 There are four possible values:
4624 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4625 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4626 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4627 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4628 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4633 @cindex adopting articles
4638 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4639 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4640 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4641 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4644 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4645 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4646 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4647 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4648 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4649 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4650 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4653 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4654 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4655 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4659 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4660 display them after one another.
4663 Don't gather loose threads.
4666 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4667 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4668 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4669 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4670 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4671 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4672 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4673 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4674 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4675 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4676 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4678 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4679 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4680 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4683 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4684 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4685 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4686 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4687 simplification is used.
4689 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4690 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4691 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4692 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4694 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4696 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4702 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4703 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4704 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4705 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4710 (mapconcat 'identity
4711 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4713 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4716 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4719 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4720 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4721 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4722 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4723 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4724 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4726 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4729 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4730 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4731 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4733 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4734 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4737 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4738 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4739 Remove excessive whitespace.
4742 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4745 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4746 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4747 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4748 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4749 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4750 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4751 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4752 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4754 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4755 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4756 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4757 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4758 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4759 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4760 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4761 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4762 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4766 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4767 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4768 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4769 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4771 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4772 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4773 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4776 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4780 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4781 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4787 @node Filling In Threads
4788 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4791 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4792 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4793 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4794 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4795 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4796 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4797 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4798 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4799 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4800 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4801 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4802 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4804 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4805 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4806 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4808 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4809 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4810 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4811 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4812 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4813 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4814 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4815 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4816 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4817 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4818 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4819 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4820 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4821 @code{nil} by default.
4826 @node More Threading
4827 @subsubsection More Threading
4830 @item gnus-show-threads
4831 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4832 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4833 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4834 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4835 slower and more awkward.
4837 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4838 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4839 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4842 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4843 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4844 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4845 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4846 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4847 threads are expunged.
4849 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4850 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4851 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4854 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4855 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4856 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4857 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4858 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4861 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4862 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4863 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4869 @node Low-Level Threading
4870 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4874 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4875 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4876 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4877 @code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
4878 slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
4879 future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
4881 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4882 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4883 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4884 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4885 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4886 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4887 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4888 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4889 meaningful. Here's one example:
4892 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4894 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4895 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4897 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4899 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4906 @node Thread Commands
4907 @subsection Thread Commands
4908 @cindex thread commands
4914 @kindex T k (Summary)
4915 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4916 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4917 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4918 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4919 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4924 @kindex T l (Summary)
4925 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4926 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4927 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4928 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4931 @kindex T i (Summary)
4932 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4933 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4934 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4937 @kindex T # (Summary)
4938 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4939 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4940 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4943 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4944 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4945 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4946 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4949 @kindex T T (Summary)
4950 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4951 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4954 @kindex T s (Summary)
4955 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4956 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4957 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4960 @kindex T h (Summary)
4961 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4962 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4965 @kindex T S (Summary)
4966 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4967 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4970 @kindex T H (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4972 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4975 @kindex T t (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4977 Re-thread the current article's thread
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4979 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4982 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4983 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4984 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4985 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
4989 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4990 understand the numeric prefix.
4995 @kindex T n (Summary)
4996 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4997 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5000 @kindex T p (Summary)
5001 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5002 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5005 @kindex T d (Summary)
5006 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5007 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5010 @kindex T u (Summary)
5011 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5012 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5015 @kindex T o (Summary)
5016 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5017 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5020 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5021 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5022 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5023 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5024 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5025 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5026 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5027 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5028 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5029 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5030 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5031 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5038 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5039 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5040 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5041 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5042 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5043 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5044 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5045 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5046 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5047 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5048 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5049 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5050 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5051 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5053 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5054 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5055 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5056 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5057 in the list. You should probably always include
5058 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5059 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5060 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5061 ascending article order.
5063 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5064 number, you could do something like:
5067 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5068 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5069 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5070 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5073 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5074 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5075 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5076 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5077 which the articles arrived.
5079 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5083 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5085 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5086 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5089 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5090 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5091 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5092 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5095 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5096 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5097 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5098 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5099 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5100 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5101 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5102 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5103 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5104 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5105 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5106 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5107 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5109 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5113 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5114 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5115 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5120 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5121 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5122 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5123 @cindex article pre-fetch
5126 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5127 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5128 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5129 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5130 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5132 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5133 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5135 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5136 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5137 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5138 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5139 connection is blocked.
5141 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5142 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5143 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5144 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5146 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5147 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5148 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5149 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5152 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5155 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5156 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5157 happen automatically.
5159 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5160 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5161 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5162 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5163 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5164 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5165 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5167 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5168 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5169 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5170 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5171 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5172 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5173 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5174 data structure as the only parameter.
5176 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5179 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5180 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5181 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5182 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5185 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5188 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5189 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5190 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5192 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5193 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5194 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5195 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5199 Remove articles when they are read.
5202 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5205 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5207 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5208 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5209 from the next group.
5212 @node Article Caching
5213 @section Article Caching
5214 @cindex article caching
5217 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5218 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5219 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5220 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5221 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5223 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5225 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5226 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5227 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5228 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5229 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5230 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5231 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5232 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5234 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5235 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5236 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5237 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5238 as dormant, and don't worry.
5240 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5242 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5243 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5244 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5245 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5246 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5247 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5248 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5249 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5250 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5251 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5253 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5254 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5255 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5256 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5257 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5258 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5259 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5260 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5261 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5262 not then be downloaded by this command.
5264 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5265 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5266 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5267 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5268 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5269 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5270 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5273 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5274 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5275 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5276 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5277 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5278 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5279 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5280 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5281 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5285 @node Persistent Articles
5286 @section Persistent Articles
5287 @cindex persistent articles
5289 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5290 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5291 useful in my opinion.
5293 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5294 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5295 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5296 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5297 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5298 the expiry going on at the news server.
5300 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5301 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5302 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5308 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5309 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5312 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5314 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5315 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5319 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5321 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5322 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5323 interested in persistent articles:
5326 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5330 @node Article Backlog
5331 @section Article Backlog
5333 @cindex article backlog
5335 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5336 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5337 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5338 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5339 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5340 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5341 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5342 increase memory usage some.
5344 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5345 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5346 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5347 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5348 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5349 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5350 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5352 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5355 @node Saving Articles
5356 @section Saving Articles
5357 @cindex saving articles
5359 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5360 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5361 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5362 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5363 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5365 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5366 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5367 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5369 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5370 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5371 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5372 deleted before saving.
5378 @kindex O o (Summary)
5380 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5381 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5382 Save the current article using the default article saver
5383 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5386 @kindex O m (Summary)
5387 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5388 Save the current article in mail format
5389 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5392 @kindex O r (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5394 Save the current article in rmail format
5395 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5398 @kindex O f (Summary)
5399 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5400 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5401 Save the current article in plain file format
5402 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5405 @kindex O F (Summary)
5406 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5407 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5408 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5411 @kindex O b (Summary)
5412 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5413 Save the current article body in plain file format
5414 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5417 @kindex O h (Summary)
5418 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5419 Save the current article in mh folder format
5420 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5423 @kindex O v (Summary)
5424 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5425 Save the current article in a VM folder
5426 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5429 @kindex O p (Summary)
5430 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5431 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5432 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5435 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5436 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5437 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5438 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5439 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5440 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5441 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5442 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5443 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5444 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5445 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5446 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5450 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5451 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5452 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5453 functions below, or you can create your own.
5457 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5458 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5459 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5460 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5461 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5462 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5463 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5465 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5466 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5467 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5468 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5469 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5470 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5472 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5473 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5474 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5475 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5476 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5477 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5478 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5480 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5481 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5482 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5483 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5484 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5486 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5487 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5488 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5489 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5490 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5493 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5494 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5495 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5496 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5497 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5499 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5500 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5501 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5502 reader to use this setting.
5505 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5506 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5507 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5508 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5511 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5512 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5513 available functions that generate names:
5517 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5518 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5519 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5521 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5522 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5523 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5525 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5526 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5527 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5529 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5530 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5531 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5534 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5535 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5536 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5537 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5538 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5542 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5543 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5544 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5545 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5548 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5549 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5550 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5551 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5552 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5553 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5554 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5555 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5556 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5558 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5559 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5560 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5561 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5563 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5564 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5565 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5568 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5569 lots of mail groups called things like
5570 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5571 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5572 following will do just that:
5575 (defun my-save-name (group)
5576 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5577 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5579 (setq gnus-split-methods
5580 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5585 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5586 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5587 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5588 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5589 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5590 all the files in the top level directory
5591 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5592 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5593 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5594 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5596 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5597 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5598 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5599 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5600 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5603 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5607 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5608 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5611 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5612 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5613 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5614 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5617 @node Decoding Articles
5618 @section Decoding Articles
5619 @cindex decoding articles
5621 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5622 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5625 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5626 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5627 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5628 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5629 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5630 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5634 @cindex article series
5635 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5636 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5637 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5638 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5639 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5641 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5642 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5643 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5645 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5646 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5647 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5649 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5650 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5651 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5654 @node Uuencoded Articles
5655 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5657 @cindex uuencoded articles
5662 @kindex X u (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5664 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5665 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5668 @kindex X U (Summary)
5669 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5670 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5671 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5674 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5675 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5676 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5679 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5681 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5682 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5686 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5687 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5688 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5689 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5690 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5692 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5693 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5694 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5695 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5698 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5699 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5700 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5701 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5702 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5703 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5707 @node Shell Archives
5708 @subsection Shell Archives
5710 @cindex shell archives
5711 @cindex shared articles
5713 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5714 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5715 some commands to deal with these:
5720 @kindex X s (Summary)
5721 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5722 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5725 @kindex X S (Summary)
5726 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5727 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5730 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5732 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5735 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5736 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5737 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5738 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5742 @node PostScript Files
5743 @subsection PostScript Files
5749 @kindex X p (Summary)
5750 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5751 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5754 @kindex X P (Summary)
5755 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5756 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5757 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5760 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5761 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5762 View the current PostScript series
5763 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5766 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5767 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5768 View and save the current PostScript series
5769 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5774 @subsection Other Files
5778 @kindex X o (Summary)
5779 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5780 Save the current series
5781 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5784 @kindex X b (Summary)
5785 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5786 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5787 doesn't really work yet.
5791 @node Decoding Variables
5792 @subsection Decoding Variables
5794 Adjective, not verb.
5797 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5798 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5799 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5803 @node Rule Variables
5804 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5805 @cindex rule variables
5807 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5808 variables are of the form
5811 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5818 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5819 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5821 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5822 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5825 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5826 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5829 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5830 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5831 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5832 user and default view rules.
5834 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5835 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5836 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5841 @node Other Decode Variables
5842 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5845 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5847 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5848 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5849 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5850 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5851 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5855 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5856 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5859 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5860 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5861 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5864 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5865 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5866 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5867 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5868 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5871 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5872 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5873 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5875 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5876 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5877 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5878 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5879 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5882 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5883 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5884 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5886 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5887 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5888 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5889 looking for files to display.
5891 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5892 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5893 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5896 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5897 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5898 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5901 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5902 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5903 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5906 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5907 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5908 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5911 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5912 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5913 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5914 decoded articles as unread.
5916 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5917 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5918 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5919 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5921 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5922 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5923 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5925 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5926 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5928 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5929 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5930 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5931 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5933 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5934 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5935 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5936 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5937 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5938 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5939 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5940 simply dropped them.
5945 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5946 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5950 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5951 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5952 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5953 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5954 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5955 for you when you post the article.
5957 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5958 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5959 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5960 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5962 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5963 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5964 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5965 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5966 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5967 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5968 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5970 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5971 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5972 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5973 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5974 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5975 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5976 Default is @code{t}.
5982 @subsection Viewing Files
5983 @cindex viewing files
5984 @cindex pseudo-articles
5986 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5987 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5988 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5989 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5990 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5991 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5992 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5994 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5995 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5996 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5997 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5999 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6000 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6001 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6003 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6004 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6005 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6006 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6007 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6009 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6010 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6011 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6012 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6013 a list of parameters to that command.
6015 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6016 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6017 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6019 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6020 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6021 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6024 @node Article Treatment
6025 @section Article Treatment
6027 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6028 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6029 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6030 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6031 these articles easier.
6034 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6035 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6036 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6037 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6038 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6039 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6040 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6044 @node Article Highlighting
6045 @subsection Article Highlighting
6048 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6049 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6054 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6055 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6056 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
6059 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6060 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6061 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6062 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6063 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6064 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6065 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6066 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6067 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6068 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6069 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6072 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6073 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6074 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6076 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6079 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6081 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6082 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6083 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6085 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6086 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6087 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6089 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6090 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6091 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6093 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6094 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6095 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6096 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6097 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6098 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6100 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6101 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6102 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6104 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6105 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6106 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6108 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6109 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6110 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6111 that it's a citation.
6113 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6114 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6115 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6117 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6118 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6119 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6121 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6122 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6123 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6124 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6130 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6131 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6132 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6133 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6134 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6135 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6136 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6137 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6143 @node Article Fontisizing
6144 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6146 @cindex article emphasis
6148 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6149 @kindex W e (Summary)
6150 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6151 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6152 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6153 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6155 @vindex gnus-article-emphasis
6156 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6157 @code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
6158 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6159 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6160 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6161 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6162 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6166 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6167 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6168 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6171 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6172 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6173 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6174 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6175 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6176 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6177 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6178 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6179 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6180 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6181 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6182 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6183 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6185 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6186 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6187 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6191 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6195 @node Article Hiding
6196 @subsection Article Hiding
6197 @cindex article hiding
6199 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6200 too much cruft in most articles.
6205 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6206 @findex gnus-article-hide
6207 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
6210 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6211 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6212 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6216 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6217 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6218 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6219 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6222 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6223 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6224 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6228 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6229 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6230 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6231 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6232 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6233 signature has been hidden.
6236 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6238 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6239 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6242 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6243 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6244 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6245 customizing the hiding:
6249 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6250 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6251 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6252 50), hide the cited text.
6254 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6255 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6256 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6259 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6260 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
6261 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6262 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6263 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6268 Start point of the hidden text.
6270 End point of the hidden text.
6272 Length of the hidden text.
6275 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6276 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6277 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6282 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6284 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6285 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6286 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6287 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6291 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6292 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6293 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6295 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6296 citation customization.
6299 @node Article Washing
6300 @subsection Article Washing
6302 @cindex article washing
6304 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6305 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6307 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6308 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6314 @kindex W l (Summary)
6315 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6316 Remove page breaks from the current article
6317 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
6320 @kindex W r (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6322 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6323 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6324 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6325 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6326 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6328 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6329 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6330 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6331 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6334 @kindex W t (Summary)
6335 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6336 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6337 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6340 @kindex W v (Summary)
6341 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6342 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6343 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6346 @kindex W m (Summary)
6347 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6348 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6349 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6352 @kindex W o (Summary)
6353 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6354 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6357 @kindex W d (Summary)
6358 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6359 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6362 @kindex W w (Summary)
6363 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6364 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6365 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6366 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6368 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6372 @kindex W c (Summary)
6373 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6374 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6375 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6378 @kindex W q (Summary)
6379 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6380 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6381 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6382 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6383 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6387 @kindex W f (Summary)
6389 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6390 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6391 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6392 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6398 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6399 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6400 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6401 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6402 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6403 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6404 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6405 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6406 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6407 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6408 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6409 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6410 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6411 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6415 @kindex W b (Summary)
6416 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6417 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6418 @xref{Article Buttons}
6421 @kindex W B (Summary)
6422 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6423 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6424 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6427 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6428 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6429 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6430 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6433 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6435 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6436 lines with a single empty line.
6437 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6440 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6441 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6442 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6443 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6446 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6447 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6448 Do all the three commands above
6449 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6452 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6453 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6454 Remove all blank lines
6455 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6458 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6459 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6460 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6461 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6466 @node Article Buttons
6467 @subsection Article Buttons
6470 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6471 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6472 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6473 button on these references.
6475 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6476 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6477 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6482 @item gnus-button-alist
6483 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6484 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6487 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6493 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6494 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6495 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6498 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6499 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6500 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6503 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6504 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6505 avoid false matches.
6508 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6511 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6512 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6516 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6519 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6522 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6523 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6524 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6525 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6526 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6529 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6532 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6534 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6535 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6536 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6537 default values of the variables above.
6539 @item gnus-article-button-face
6540 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6541 Face used on buttons.
6543 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6544 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6545 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6551 @subsection Article Date
6553 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6554 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6555 when the article was sent.
6560 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6561 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6562 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6563 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6566 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6567 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6569 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6570 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6573 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6574 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6575 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6578 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6579 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6580 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6581 @findex format-time-string
6582 Display the date using a user-defined format
6583 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6584 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6585 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6586 for a list of possible format specs.
6589 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6590 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6591 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6592 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6593 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6594 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6595 updated continually, you can put
6598 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6601 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6602 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6606 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6607 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6608 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6609 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6610 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6611 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6612 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6617 @node Article Signature
6618 @subsection Article Signature
6620 @cindex article signature
6622 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6623 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6624 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6625 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6626 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6627 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6628 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6629 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6630 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6633 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6634 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6635 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6636 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6637 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6638 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6639 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6640 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6643 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6646 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6647 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6652 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6655 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6658 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6659 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6661 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6662 in question is not a signature.
6665 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6666 listed above. Here's an example:
6669 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6670 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6673 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6674 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6675 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6676 signature after all.
6679 @node Article Commands
6680 @section Article Commands
6687 @kindex A P (Summary)
6688 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6689 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6690 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6691 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6692 run just before printing the buffer.
6697 @node Summary Sorting
6698 @section Summary Sorting
6699 @cindex summary sorting
6701 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6702 can't really see why you'd want that.
6707 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6708 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6709 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6712 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6713 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6714 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6717 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6718 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6719 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6722 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6723 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6724 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6727 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6728 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6729 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6732 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6733 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6734 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6737 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6738 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6739 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6740 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6741 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6745 @node Finding the Parent
6746 @section Finding the Parent
6747 @cindex parent articles
6748 @cindex referring articles
6753 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6754 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6755 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6756 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6757 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6758 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6759 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6760 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6761 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6763 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6764 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6765 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6766 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6767 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6771 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6772 @kindex A R (Summary)
6773 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6774 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6777 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6778 @kindex A T (Summary)
6779 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6780 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6781 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6782 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6783 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6784 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6785 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6787 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6788 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6789 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6790 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6791 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6792 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6795 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6796 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6798 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6799 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6800 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6801 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6802 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6803 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6804 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6807 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6808 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6809 by giving this command a prefix.
6811 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6812 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6813 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6814 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6815 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6816 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6819 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6820 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6821 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6822 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6823 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6824 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6827 @node Alternative Approaches
6828 @section Alternative Approaches
6830 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6831 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6834 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6835 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6840 @subsection Pick and Read
6841 @cindex pick and read
6843 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6844 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6845 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6846 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6848 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6849 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6850 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6851 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6852 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6853 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6855 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6860 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6861 Pick the article on the current line
6862 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
6863 go to that article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6864 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6867 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6868 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6869 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6870 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6874 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6875 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6879 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6880 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6884 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6885 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6889 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6890 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6894 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6895 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6899 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6900 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6904 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6905 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6909 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6910 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6914 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6915 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6919 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
6920 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
6924 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6925 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6926 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6927 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6928 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6929 will still be visible when you are reading.
6933 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6936 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6939 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6940 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6942 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6943 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6944 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6946 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6947 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6948 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6949 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6950 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6951 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6952 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6956 @subsection Binary Groups
6957 @cindex binary groups
6959 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6960 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6961 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6962 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6963 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6964 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6965 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6968 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6969 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6970 command, when you have turned on this mode
6971 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
6973 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
6974 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
6978 @section Tree Display
6981 @vindex gnus-use-trees
6982 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
6983 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
6984 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
6987 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
6990 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
6991 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
6992 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
6994 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6995 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
6996 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
6997 is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list of valid specs, @pxref{Summary
7000 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7001 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7002 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7003 default is @code{modeline}.
7005 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7006 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7007 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7008 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7009 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7010 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7011 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7017 The name of the poster.
7019 The @code{From} header.
7021 The number of the article.
7023 The opening bracket.
7025 The closing bracket.
7030 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7032 Variables related to the display are:
7035 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7036 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7037 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7038 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7039 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7040 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7042 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7043 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7044 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7045 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7049 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7050 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7051 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7052 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7053 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7054 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7055 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7056 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7057 other windows displayed next to it.
7059 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7060 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7061 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7062 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7063 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7064 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7065 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7069 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7072 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7082 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7086 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7087 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7089 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7091 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7096 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7097 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7098 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7101 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7102 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7103 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7104 (gnus-add-configuration
7108 (summary 0.75 point)
7113 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7116 @node Mail Group Commands
7117 @section Mail Group Commands
7118 @cindex mail group commands
7120 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7121 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7123 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7124 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7129 @kindex B e (Summary)
7130 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7131 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7132 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7135 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7136 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7137 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7138 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7139 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7140 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7143 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7144 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7145 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7146 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7147 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7148 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7151 @kindex B m (Summary)
7153 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7154 Move the article from one mail group to another
7155 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7158 @kindex B c (Summary)
7160 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7161 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7162 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7163 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7166 @kindex B B (Summary)
7167 @cindex crosspost mail
7168 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7169 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7170 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7171 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7172 be properly updated.
7175 @kindex B i (Summary)
7176 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7177 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7178 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7179 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7182 @kindex B r (Summary)
7183 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7184 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7185 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7186 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7187 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7191 @kindex B w (Summary)
7193 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7194 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7195 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7196 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7197 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7198 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7201 @kindex B q (Summary)
7202 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7203 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7204 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7205 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7208 @kindex B p (Summary)
7209 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7210 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7211 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7212 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7213 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7214 article from your news server (or rather, from
7215 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7216 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7217 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7218 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7219 just not have arrived yet.
7223 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7224 @cindex moving articles
7225 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7226 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7227 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7228 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7229 suggestions you find reasonable.
7232 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7233 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7234 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7235 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7239 @node Various Summary Stuff
7240 @section Various Summary Stuff
7243 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7244 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7245 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7246 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7250 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7251 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7252 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7254 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7255 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7256 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7257 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7258 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7259 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7262 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7263 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7264 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7265 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7266 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7268 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7269 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7270 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7271 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7272 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7273 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7274 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7275 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7276 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7277 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7282 @node Summary Group Information
7283 @subsection Summary Group Information
7288 @kindex H f (Summary)
7289 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7290 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7291 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7292 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7293 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7294 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7295 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7296 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7297 be used for fetching the file.
7300 @kindex H d (Summary)
7301 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7302 Give a brief description of the current group
7303 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7304 rereading the description from the server.
7307 @kindex H h (Summary)
7308 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7309 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7310 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7313 @kindex H i (Summary)
7314 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7315 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7319 @node Searching for Articles
7320 @subsection Searching for Articles
7325 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7327 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7328 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7331 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7332 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7333 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7334 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7338 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7339 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7340 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7341 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7345 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7346 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7347 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7348 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7351 @node Summary Generation Commands
7352 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7357 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7358 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7359 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7362 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7363 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7364 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7365 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7370 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7371 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7376 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7377 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7378 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7379 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7380 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7381 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7382 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7383 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7384 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7388 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7389 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7390 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7391 several documents into one biiig group
7392 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7393 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7394 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7395 command understands the process/prefix convention
7396 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7399 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7400 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7401 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7402 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7403 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7404 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7408 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7409 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7410 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7413 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7414 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7415 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7416 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7421 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7422 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7423 @cindex summary exit
7424 @cindex exiting groups
7426 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7427 group and return you to the group buffer.
7433 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7435 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7436 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7437 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7438 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7439 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7440 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7441 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7442 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7443 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7444 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7445 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7449 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7451 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7452 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7453 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7457 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7460 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7461 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7462 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7465 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7467 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7468 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7471 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7473 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7474 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7477 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7479 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7480 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7481 all articles, both read and unread.
7485 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7486 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7487 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7488 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7489 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7490 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7491 articles, both read and unread.
7494 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7495 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7496 Exit the group and go to the next group
7497 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7500 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7501 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7502 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7503 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7506 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7507 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7508 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7509 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7510 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7511 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7514 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7515 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7518 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7519 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7520 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7521 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7522 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7523 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7524 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7525 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7526 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7527 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7528 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7529 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7531 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7533 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7534 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7535 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7536 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7537 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7538 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7539 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7540 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7541 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7544 @node Crosspost Handling
7545 @section Crosspost Handling
7549 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7550 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7551 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7552 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7553 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7554 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7557 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7558 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7559 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7560 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7561 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7563 @cindex cross-posting
7566 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7567 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7568 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7569 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7570 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7571 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7572 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7573 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7574 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7575 the cross reference mechanism.
7577 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7578 @cindex overview.fmt
7579 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7580 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7581 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7582 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7583 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7584 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7587 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7588 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7589 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7594 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7597 @node Duplicate Suppression
7598 @section Duplicate Suppression
7600 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7601 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7602 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7603 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7608 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7609 is evil and not very common.
7612 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7613 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7616 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7617 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7620 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7623 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7624 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7626 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7627 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7628 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7629 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7630 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7631 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7632 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7635 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7636 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7637 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7638 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7639 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7643 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7644 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7645 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7647 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7648 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7649 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7650 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7651 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7652 session are suppressed.
7654 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7655 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7656 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7657 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7659 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7660 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7661 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7662 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7665 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7666 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7667 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7668 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7669 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7670 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7671 to you to figure out, I think.
7674 @node The Article Buffer
7675 @chapter The Article Buffer
7676 @cindex article buffer
7678 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7679 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7680 tell Gnus otherwise.
7683 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7684 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7685 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7686 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7687 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7691 @node Hiding Headers
7692 @section Hiding Headers
7693 @cindex hiding headers
7694 @cindex deleting headers
7696 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7697 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7699 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7700 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7701 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7702 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7703 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7704 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7705 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7706 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7707 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7709 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7713 @item gnus-visible-headers
7714 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7715 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7716 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7717 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7719 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7720 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7723 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7726 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7729 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7730 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7731 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7732 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7733 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7734 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7736 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7737 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7740 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7743 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7746 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7747 variable will have no effect.
7751 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7752 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7753 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7754 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7755 the headers are to be displayed.
7757 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7758 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7761 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7764 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7765 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7767 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7768 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7769 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7770 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7771 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7772 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7773 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7774 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7775 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7777 These conditions are:
7780 Remove all empty headers.
7782 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7785 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7786 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7788 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7791 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7794 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7796 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7799 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
7802 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7803 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
7806 This is also the default value for this variable.
7810 @section Using @sc{mime}
7813 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7814 while people stand around yawning.
7816 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7817 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7819 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7820 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7821 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7823 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7824 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
7825 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7826 @findex metamail-buffer
7827 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7828 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
7829 default. This function calls the external @code{metamail} program to
7830 actually do the work. One common problem with this program is that is
7831 thinks that it can't display 8-bit things in the Emacs buffer. To tell
7832 it the truth, put something like the following in your
7833 @file{.bash_profile} file. (You do use @code{bash}, don't you?)
7836 export MM_CHARSET="iso-8859-1"
7839 For more information on @code{metamail}, see its manual page.
7841 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7842 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7843 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7844 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7845 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7846 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7848 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
7849 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
7850 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
7851 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
7852 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
7853 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
7854 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
7855 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
7856 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
7858 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7861 @node Customizing Articles
7862 @section Customizing Articles
7863 @cindex article customization
7865 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7866 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7867 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7868 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7870 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7871 By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
7872 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
7873 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
7874 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7875 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7876 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7877 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7878 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7880 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7881 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7882 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7883 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7884 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7887 @node Article Keymap
7888 @section Article Keymap
7890 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7891 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7892 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7893 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7896 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7901 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7902 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7903 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7906 @kindex DEL (Article)
7907 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7908 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7911 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7912 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7913 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7914 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7915 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7918 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7919 @findex gnus-article-mail
7920 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7921 given a prefix, include the mail.
7925 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7926 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7927 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7931 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7932 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7933 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7936 @kindex TAB (Article)
7937 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7938 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7939 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7942 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7943 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7944 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7950 @section Misc Article
7954 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7955 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7956 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7957 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7960 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7961 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7962 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7963 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7964 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
7965 the contents of the article buffer.
7967 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7968 @item gnus-article-display-hook
7969 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
7970 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
7971 hiding headers, and the like.
7973 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
7974 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
7975 Hook called in article mode buffers.
7977 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7978 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
7979 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
7980 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
7982 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
7983 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
7984 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
7985 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
7986 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
7990 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
7991 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
7995 @vindex gnus-break-pages
7997 @item gnus-break-pages
7998 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
7999 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8000 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8001 paging will not be done.
8003 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8004 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8005 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8010 @node Composing Messages
8011 @chapter Composing Messages
8012 @cindex composing messages
8015 @cindex sending mail
8020 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8021 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8022 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8023 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8024 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8025 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8026 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8029 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8030 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8031 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8032 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8033 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8034 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8035 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8038 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8039 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8045 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8048 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8049 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8050 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8051 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8053 @item gnus-add-to-list
8054 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8055 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8056 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8064 Variables for composing news articles:
8067 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8068 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8069 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8070 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8071 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8072 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8073 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8074 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8075 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8078 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8079 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8080 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8081 file. It is 1000 by default.
8086 @node Posting Server
8087 @section Posting Server
8089 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8090 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8092 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8094 @vindex gnus-post-method
8096 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8097 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8098 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8099 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8100 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8103 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8106 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8107 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8108 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8109 the ``current'' server for posting.
8111 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8112 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8114 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8115 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8118 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8119 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8120 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8125 @section Mail and Post
8127 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8131 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8132 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8133 @cindex mailing lists
8135 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8136 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8137 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8138 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8139 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8140 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8141 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8142 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8143 still a pain, though.
8147 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8148 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8149 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8152 @findex ispell-message
8154 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8158 @node Archived Messages
8159 @section Archived Messages
8160 @cindex archived messages
8161 @cindex sent messages
8163 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8164 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8165 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8166 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8169 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8170 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8171 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8175 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8176 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8177 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8178 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8181 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8182 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8183 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8184 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8187 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8188 '(nnfolder "archive"
8189 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8190 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8191 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8194 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8196 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8197 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8198 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8200 This variable can be used to do the following:
8204 Messages will be saved in that group.
8205 @item a list of strings
8206 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8207 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8208 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8210 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8215 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8217 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8220 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8222 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8225 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8227 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8228 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8229 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8230 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8235 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8236 '((if (message-news-p)
8241 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8242 messages in one file per month:
8245 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8246 '((if (message-news-p)
8248 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8249 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8252 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8253 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8255 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8256 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8257 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8258 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8259 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8260 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8261 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8262 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8263 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8264 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8266 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8267 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8268 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8269 this will disable archiving.
8272 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8273 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8274 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8275 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8276 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8279 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8280 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8281 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8284 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8285 but the latter is the preferred method.
8289 @c @node Posting Styles
8290 @c @section Posting Styles
8291 @c @cindex posting styles
8294 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
8296 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8297 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8298 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8301 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8302 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8303 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8304 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8305 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8310 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
8311 @c (organization . "What me?"))
8313 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
8314 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8315 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
8318 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8319 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8320 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8321 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8322 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8323 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8324 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8325 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8327 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8328 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8329 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8330 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8331 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8332 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8335 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8336 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8337 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
8338 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8339 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8342 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8343 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8344 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8346 @c So here's a new example:
8349 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
8351 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
8352 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
8353 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8354 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
8356 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8357 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8358 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
8359 @c (posting-from-work-p
8360 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
8361 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
8362 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
8364 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
8371 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8372 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8373 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8374 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8375 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8377 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8378 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8379 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8380 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8381 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8385 @vindex nndraft-directory
8386 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8387 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8388 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8389 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8390 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8391 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8393 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8394 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8397 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8398 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8399 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8400 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8401 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8402 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8403 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8404 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8405 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8406 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8407 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8408 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8409 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8410 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8412 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8413 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8414 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8416 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8418 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8419 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8420 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8422 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8425 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8426 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8427 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8428 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8429 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8430 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8431 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8434 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8435 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8436 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8439 @node Rejected Articles
8440 @section Rejected Articles
8441 @cindex rejected articles
8443 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8444 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8445 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8446 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8448 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8449 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8450 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8451 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8452 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8454 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8455 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8456 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8459 @node Select Methods
8460 @chapter Select Methods
8461 @cindex foreign groups
8462 @cindex select methods
8464 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8465 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8466 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8467 personal mail group.
8469 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8470 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8471 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8472 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8473 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8474 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8476 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8477 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8479 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8482 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8483 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8484 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8485 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8486 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8488 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8491 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8492 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8493 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8494 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8495 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8496 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8500 @node The Server Buffer
8501 @section The Server Buffer
8503 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8504 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8505 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8506 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8507 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8508 backend represents a virtual server.
8510 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8511 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8512 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8513 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8515 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8516 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8517 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8518 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8519 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8520 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8521 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8523 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8524 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8527 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8528 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8529 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8530 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8531 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8532 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8533 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8536 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8537 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8540 @node Server Buffer Format
8541 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8542 @cindex server buffer format
8544 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8545 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8546 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8547 variable, with some simple extensions:
8552 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8555 The name of this server.
8558 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8561 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8564 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8565 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8566 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
8577 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8580 @node Server Commands
8581 @subsection Server Commands
8582 @cindex server commands
8588 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8589 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8593 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8594 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8597 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8598 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8599 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8603 @findex gnus-server-exit
8604 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8608 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8609 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8613 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8614 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8618 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8619 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8623 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8624 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8628 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8629 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8630 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8635 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8636 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8637 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8638 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8643 @node Example Methods
8644 @subsection Example Methods
8646 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8649 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8652 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8658 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8659 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8662 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8663 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8665 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8666 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8670 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8673 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8674 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8676 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8677 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8678 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8682 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8685 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8688 Here's the method for a public spool:
8692 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8693 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8696 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8697 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8698 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8699 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8700 should probably look something like this:
8704 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8705 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8706 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8707 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8708 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8711 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8712 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8713 server that would look something like this:
8717 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8718 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8719 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8720 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8721 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8722 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8725 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8726 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8727 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8728 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8731 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8732 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8734 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8735 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8737 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8738 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8739 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8741 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8743 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8744 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8745 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8746 will contain the following:
8756 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8757 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8758 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8761 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8762 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8763 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8766 @node Server Variables
8767 @subsection Server Variables
8769 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8770 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8771 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8772 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8773 won't change the "derived" variables.
8775 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8776 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8777 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8778 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8779 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8780 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8781 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8782 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8783 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8787 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8788 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8789 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8793 @node Servers and Methods
8794 @subsection Servers and Methods
8796 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8797 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8798 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8799 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8803 @node Unavailable Servers
8804 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8806 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8807 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8808 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8809 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8810 actually the case or not.
8812 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8813 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8814 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8815 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8816 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8817 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8818 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8819 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8821 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8822 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8824 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8825 with the following commands:
8831 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8832 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8833 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8837 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8838 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8839 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8843 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8844 Mark the current server as unreachable
8845 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8848 @kindex M-o (Server)
8849 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8850 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8851 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8854 @kindex M-c (Server)
8855 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8856 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8857 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8861 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8862 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8863 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8869 @section Getting News
8870 @cindex reading news
8871 @cindex news backends
8873 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8874 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8875 or it can read from a local spool.
8878 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8879 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8884 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8887 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8888 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8889 server as the, uhm, address.
8891 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8892 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8893 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8894 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8896 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8897 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8898 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8900 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8905 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8906 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8907 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8909 @cindex authentification
8910 @cindex nntp authentification
8911 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8912 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8913 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8914 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8915 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8916 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8917 present in this hook.
8919 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8920 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8921 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8922 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
8923 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8924 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
8925 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
8926 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
8927 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
8928 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
8929 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
8930 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
8934 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
8937 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
8938 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password}, and
8939 @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp}
8940 token, which is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format deviates
8941 from the @file{.netrc} file format.)
8945 Here's an example file:
8948 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
8949 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
8952 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
8953 have to be first, for instance.
8955 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
8956 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
8957 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
8958 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
8959 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
8960 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
8961 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
8963 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
8965 @item nntp-server-action-alist
8966 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
8967 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
8968 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
8969 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
8972 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
8976 You probably don't want to do that, though.
8978 The default value is
8981 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
8982 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
8985 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
8986 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
8988 @item nntp-maximum-request
8989 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
8990 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
8991 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
8992 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
8993 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
8994 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
8995 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
8997 @c @item nntp-connection-timeout
8998 @c @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
8999 @c If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9000 @c regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9001 @c responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9002 @c time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9003 @c somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9004 @c that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9005 @c connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9006 @c no timeouts are done.
9008 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9009 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9010 @c @cindex PPP connections
9011 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9012 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9013 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9014 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9015 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9016 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9017 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9018 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9019 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9020 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9022 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9023 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9024 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9025 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9028 @item nntp-server-hook
9029 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9030 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9033 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9034 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9035 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9036 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9037 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9038 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9039 functions are supplied:
9042 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9043 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9046 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9047 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9048 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9051 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9055 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9056 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9057 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9058 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9060 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9061 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9062 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9064 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9065 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9066 User name on the remote system.
9070 @item nntp-open-telnet
9071 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9072 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9074 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9077 @item nntp-telnet-command
9078 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9079 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9081 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9082 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9083 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9085 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9086 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9087 User name for log in on the remote system.
9089 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9090 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9091 Password to use when logging in.
9093 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9094 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9095 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9098 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9099 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9100 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9101 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9103 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9104 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9105 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9106 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9107 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9111 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9112 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9113 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9114 you must have SSLay installed
9115 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9116 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9117 define a server as follows:
9120 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9122 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9124 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9125 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9126 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9127 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9132 @item nntp-end-of-line
9133 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9134 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9135 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9136 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9138 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9139 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9140 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9144 @vindex nntp-address
9145 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9147 @item nntp-port-number
9148 @vindex nntp-port-number
9149 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9152 @item nntp-buggy-select
9153 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9154 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9156 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9157 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9158 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9159 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9162 @item nntp-xover-commands
9163 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9166 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9167 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9171 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9172 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9173 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9174 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9175 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9176 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9177 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9178 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9179 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9180 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9181 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9183 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9184 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9185 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9187 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9188 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9189 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9190 server closes connection.
9192 @item nntp-record-commands
9193 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9194 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9195 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9196 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9197 that doesn't seem to work.
9203 @subsection News Spool
9207 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9208 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9209 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9212 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9213 anything else) as the address.
9215 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9216 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9217 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9218 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9222 @item nnspool-inews-program
9223 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9224 Program used to post an article.
9226 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9227 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9228 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9230 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9231 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9232 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9233 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9235 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9236 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9237 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9238 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9240 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9241 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9242 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9244 @item nnspool-active-file
9245 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9246 The path to the active file.
9248 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9249 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9250 The path to the group descriptions file.
9252 @item nnspool-history-file
9253 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9254 The path to the news history file.
9256 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9257 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9258 The path to the active date file.
9260 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9261 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9262 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9265 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9266 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9268 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9269 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9270 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9276 @section Getting Mail
9277 @cindex reading mail
9280 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9284 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9285 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9286 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9287 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9288 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9289 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9290 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9291 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9292 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9293 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9294 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9298 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9299 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9301 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9302 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9303 and things will happen automatically.
9305 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9306 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9309 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9310 '((nnml "private")))
9313 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9314 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9315 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9316 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9317 like any other group.
9319 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9322 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9323 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9324 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9328 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9329 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9330 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9333 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9334 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9335 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9338 @node Splitting Mail
9339 @subsection Splitting Mail
9340 @cindex splitting mail
9341 @cindex mail splitting
9343 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9344 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9345 to be split into groups.
9348 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9349 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9350 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9354 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9355 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9356 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9357 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9358 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9359 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9360 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9363 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9366 If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
9367 that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
9370 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9371 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9372 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9373 mail belongs in that group.
9375 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9376 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9377 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9378 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9379 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9380 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9382 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9383 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9384 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9385 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9386 thinks should carry this mail message.
9388 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9389 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9390 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9391 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9393 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9394 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9395 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9396 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9397 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9399 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9402 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9403 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9404 links. If that's the case for you, set
9405 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9406 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9408 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9409 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9410 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9411 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9413 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9414 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9415 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9416 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9417 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9418 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9419 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9420 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9424 @node Mail Backend Variables
9425 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9427 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9431 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9432 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9433 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9434 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9436 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9437 @item nnmail-spool-file
9441 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9442 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9443 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9444 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9445 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9446 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9447 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9448 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9449 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9450 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9451 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9452 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9453 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9454 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9455 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9457 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9459 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9460 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9463 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9464 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9465 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9466 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9467 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9468 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9470 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9471 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9472 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9473 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9474 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9475 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9476 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9479 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9480 @item nnmail-crash-box
9481 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9482 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9483 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9486 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9487 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9488 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9489 used for, well, anything, really.
9491 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9492 @item nnmail-split-hook
9493 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9494 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9495 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9496 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9497 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9498 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9499 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9500 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9502 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9503 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9504 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9505 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9506 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9507 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9508 starting to handle the new mail) and
9509 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9510 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9511 default file modes the new mail files get:
9514 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9515 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9517 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9518 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9521 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9522 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9523 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9524 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9525 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9526 it will be used instead.
9528 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9529 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9530 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9531 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9533 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9534 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9537 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9538 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9539 @cindex incoming mail files
9540 @cindex deleting incoming files
9541 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9542 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9545 @c This is @code{nil} by
9546 @c default for reasons of security.
9548 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9549 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9550 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9551 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9552 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9555 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9557 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9558 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9559 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9560 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9561 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9562 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9563 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9565 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9566 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9568 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9570 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9571 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9572 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9573 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9574 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9579 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9580 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9581 @cindex mail splitting
9582 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9584 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9585 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9586 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9587 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9588 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9589 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9591 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9594 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9595 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9596 ;; from real errors.
9597 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9599 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9600 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9601 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9602 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9603 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9604 ;; Other mailing lists...
9605 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9606 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9608 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9609 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9613 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9614 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9615 the five possible split syntaxes:
9620 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
9623 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9624 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9625 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9628 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9629 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9630 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9631 be stored in one or more groups.
9634 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9635 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9638 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9642 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9643 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9644 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9649 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9650 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9651 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9652 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9653 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9655 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9656 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9657 are expanded as specified by the variable
9658 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9659 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9662 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9663 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9664 when all this splitting is performed.
9666 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9667 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9668 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9671 (any "debian-\\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9674 @node Mail and Procmail
9675 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9680 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9681 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9682 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9683 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9684 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9686 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9687 something like the following:
9689 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9691 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9692 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9693 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9696 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9697 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9700 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9701 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9702 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9703 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9704 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9705 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9707 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9710 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9712 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9713 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9715 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9716 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9717 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9718 to include all your mail groups.
9720 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9721 method will be created automatically.
9723 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9724 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9725 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9726 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9727 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9728 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9729 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9730 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9732 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9733 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9734 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9735 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9736 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9738 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9739 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9740 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9741 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9742 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9743 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9745 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9746 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9747 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9748 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9749 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9752 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9753 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9754 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9755 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9756 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9760 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9761 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9763 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9764 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9765 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9768 Doing so can be quite easy.
9770 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9771 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9772 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9773 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9774 your @code{nnml} groups.
9780 Go to the group buffer.
9783 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9784 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9787 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9790 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9791 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9794 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9795 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9798 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9799 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9800 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9801 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9802 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9804 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9805 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9806 using the new mail backend.
9810 @subsection Expiring Mail
9811 @cindex article expiry
9813 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9814 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9815 different approach to mail reading.
9817 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9818 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9819 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9820 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9821 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9822 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9825 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9826 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9827 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9828 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9829 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9830 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9831 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9832 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9834 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9835 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9836 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9837 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9838 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9839 column in the summary buffer.
9841 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9842 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9843 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9844 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9847 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9849 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9850 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9851 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9854 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9855 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9856 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9857 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9858 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9860 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9861 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9864 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9865 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9868 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9869 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9871 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9872 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9873 don't really mix very well.
9875 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9876 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9877 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9878 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9881 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9882 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9883 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9884 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9887 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9889 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9891 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9893 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9895 ((string= group "important")
9901 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9902 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9904 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9905 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9906 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9909 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9910 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9912 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9913 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9914 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9915 easier for procmail users.
9917 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9918 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9919 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9920 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9921 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9922 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9923 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9924 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9925 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9926 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9927 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9928 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9929 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9932 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9936 @subsection Washing Mail
9937 @cindex mail washing
9938 @cindex list server brain damage
9939 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9941 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9942 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9943 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
9944 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
9945 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
9946 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
9948 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
9949 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
9950 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
9953 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
9954 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
9955 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
9956 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
9959 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9960 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9961 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
9962 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
9965 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9966 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
9967 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
9968 Emacs running on MS machines.
9972 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9973 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
9974 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
9975 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
9978 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9979 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
9980 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
9981 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
9983 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9984 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
9985 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
9986 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
9987 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
9988 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
9989 also be a list of regexp.
9991 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
9992 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
9995 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
9996 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
9999 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10000 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10001 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10005 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10006 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10007 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10011 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10012 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10013 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10020 @subsection Duplicates
10022 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10023 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10024 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10025 @cindex duplicate mails
10026 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10027 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10028 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10029 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10030 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10031 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10032 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10033 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10034 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10035 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10036 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10037 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10038 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10040 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10041 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10042 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10043 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10045 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10048 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10049 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10053 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10054 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10055 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10056 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10057 (any mail "mail.misc")
10064 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10065 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10070 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10071 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10072 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10073 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10074 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10077 @node Not Reading Mail
10078 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10080 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10081 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10082 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10084 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10085 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10087 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10088 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10089 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10090 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10091 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10092 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10093 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10094 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10095 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10096 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10097 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10099 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10100 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10104 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10105 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10107 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10108 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10109 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10112 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10113 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10114 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10115 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10116 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10120 @node Unix Mail Box
10121 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10123 @cindex unix mail box
10125 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10126 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10127 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10128 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10129 which group it belongs in.
10131 Virtual server settings:
10134 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10135 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10136 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10138 @item nnmbox-active-file
10139 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10140 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10142 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10143 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10144 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10150 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10154 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10155 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10156 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10157 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10158 article to say which group it belongs in.
10160 Virtual server settings:
10163 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10164 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10165 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10167 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10168 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10169 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10171 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10172 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10173 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10178 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10180 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10182 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10183 format. It should be used with some caution.
10185 @vindex nnml-directory
10186 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10187 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10188 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10189 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10191 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10194 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10195 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10196 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10197 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10198 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10199 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10200 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10201 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10203 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10204 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10205 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10206 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10208 Virtual server settings:
10211 @item nnml-directory
10212 @vindex nnml-directory
10213 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10215 @item nnml-active-file
10216 @vindex nnml-active-file
10217 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10219 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10220 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10221 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10224 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10225 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10226 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10228 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10229 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10230 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10232 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10233 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10234 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10236 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10237 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10238 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10242 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10243 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10244 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10245 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10246 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10247 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10248 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10253 @subsubsection MH Spool
10255 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10257 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10258 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10259 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10260 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10262 Virtual server settings:
10265 @item nnmh-directory
10266 @vindex nnmh-directory
10267 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10269 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10270 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10271 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10274 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10275 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10276 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10277 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10278 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10279 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10280 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10285 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10287 @cindex mbox folders
10288 @cindex mail folders
10290 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10291 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10292 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10295 Virtual server settings:
10298 @item nnfolder-directory
10299 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10300 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10302 @item nnfolder-active-file
10303 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10304 The name of the active file.
10306 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10307 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10308 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10310 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10311 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10312 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10315 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10316 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10317 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10318 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10319 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10320 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10323 @node Other Sources
10324 @section Other Sources
10326 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10327 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10331 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10332 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10333 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10334 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10335 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10336 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10340 @node Directory Groups
10341 @subsection Directory Groups
10343 @cindex directory groups
10345 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10346 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10349 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10350 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10351 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10352 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10354 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10355 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10356 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10357 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10358 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10360 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10362 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10363 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10364 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10365 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10368 @node Anything Groups
10369 @subsection Anything Groups
10372 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10373 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10374 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10377 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10378 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10379 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10380 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10381 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10382 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10383 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10384 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10385 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10386 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10389 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10390 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10391 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10392 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10394 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10395 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10396 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10397 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10399 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10400 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10401 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10402 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10403 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10404 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10405 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10406 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10411 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10412 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10413 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10414 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10416 @item nneething-exclude-files
10417 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10418 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10419 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10421 @item nneething-map-file
10422 @vindex nneething-map-file
10423 Name of the map files.
10427 @node Document Groups
10428 @subsection Document Groups
10430 @cindex documentation group
10433 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10434 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10441 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10446 The standard Unix mbox file.
10448 @cindex MMDF mail box
10450 The MMDF mail box format.
10453 Several news articles appended into a file.
10456 @cindex rnews batch files
10457 The rnews batch transport format.
10458 @cindex forwarded messages
10461 Forwarded articles.
10465 @cindex MIME digest
10466 @cindex 1153 digest
10467 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10468 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10469 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10471 @item standard-digest
10472 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10475 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10478 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10479 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10480 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10483 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10484 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10485 group. And that's it.
10487 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10488 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10489 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10490 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10491 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10492 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10493 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10494 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10495 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10496 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10498 Virtual server variables:
10501 @item nndoc-article-type
10502 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10503 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10504 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10505 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-digest}, @code{standard-digest},
10506 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or @code{guess}.
10508 @item nndoc-post-type
10509 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10510 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10511 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10516 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10520 @node Document Server Internals
10521 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10523 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10524 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10525 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10526 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10528 First, here's an example document type definition:
10532 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10533 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10536 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10537 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10538 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10539 types can be defined with very few settings:
10542 @item first-article
10543 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10544 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10547 @item article-begin
10548 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10549 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10551 @item head-begin-function
10552 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10555 @item nndoc-head-begin
10556 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10559 @item nndoc-head-end
10560 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10561 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10563 @item body-begin-function
10564 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10568 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10571 @item body-end-function
10572 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10576 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10579 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10580 regexp will be totally ignored.
10584 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10585 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10586 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10587 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10588 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10591 @item prepare-body-function
10592 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10593 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10594 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10596 @item article-transform-function
10597 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10598 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10599 body of the article.
10601 @item generate-head-function
10602 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10603 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10604 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10605 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10609 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10614 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10615 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10616 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10617 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10618 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10619 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10620 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10621 (subtype digest guess))
10624 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10625 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10626 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10627 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10628 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10630 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10631 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10632 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10633 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10634 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
10635 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10636 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10637 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10638 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10639 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10647 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10648 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10649 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10651 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10652 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10653 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10656 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10657 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10658 that interested in doing things properly.
10660 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10661 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10664 First some terminology:
10669 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10670 get news and/or mail from.
10673 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10674 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10677 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10681 @item message packets
10682 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10683 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10684 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10686 @item response packets
10687 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10688 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10689 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10699 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10700 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10701 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10702 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10705 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10708 You put the packet in your home directory.
10711 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10712 the native or secondary server.
10715 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10716 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10719 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10723 You transfer this packet to the server.
10726 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10729 You then repeat until you die.
10733 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10734 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10737 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10738 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10739 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10743 @node SOUP Commands
10744 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10746 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10750 @kindex G s b (Group)
10751 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10752 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10753 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10754 process/prefix convention.
10757 @kindex G s w (Group)
10758 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10759 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10762 @kindex G s s (Group)
10763 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10764 Send all replies from the replies packet
10765 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10768 @kindex G s p (Group)
10769 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10770 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10773 @kindex G s r (Group)
10774 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10775 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10778 @kindex O s (Summary)
10779 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10780 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10781 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10782 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10787 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10792 @item gnus-soup-directory
10793 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10794 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10795 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10797 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10798 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10799 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10800 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10802 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10803 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10804 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10805 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10807 @item gnus-soup-packer
10808 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10809 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10810 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10812 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10813 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10814 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10815 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10817 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10818 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10819 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10821 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10822 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10823 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10824 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10830 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10833 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10834 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10835 you can read them at leisure.
10837 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10841 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10842 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10843 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10844 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10846 @item nnsoup-directory
10847 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10848 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10849 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10851 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10852 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10853 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10854 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10856 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10857 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10858 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10859 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10860 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10862 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10863 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10864 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10865 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10867 @item nnsoup-active-file
10868 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10869 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10870 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10871 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10872 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10874 @item nnsoup-packer
10875 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10876 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10877 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10879 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10880 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10881 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10882 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10884 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10885 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10886 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10889 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10890 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10891 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10894 @item nnsoup-always-save
10895 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10896 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10902 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10904 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10905 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10906 more for that to happen.
10908 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10909 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10910 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10913 In specific, this is what it does:
10916 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10917 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10920 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10921 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10922 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10926 @subsection Web Searches
10930 @cindex InReference
10931 @cindex Usenet searches
10932 @cindex searching the Usenet
10934 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10935 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10936 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10937 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10938 searches without having to use a browser.
10940 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
10941 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
10942 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
10943 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
10944 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
10946 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
10947 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
10948 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
10949 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
10950 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
10951 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
10952 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
10953 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
10954 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
10955 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
10958 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
10959 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
10960 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
10961 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
10962 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
10963 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
10965 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
10966 to use @code{nnweb}.
10968 Virtual server variables:
10973 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
10974 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
10978 @vindex nnweb-search
10979 The search string to feed to the search engine.
10981 @item nnweb-max-hits
10982 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
10983 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
10986 @item nnweb-type-definition
10987 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
10988 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
10989 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
10994 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
10998 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11001 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11004 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11008 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11015 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11016 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11017 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11020 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11021 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11022 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11024 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11030 @item nngateway-address
11031 @vindex nngateway-address
11032 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11034 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11035 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11036 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11037 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11038 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11039 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11040 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11043 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11044 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11045 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11048 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11051 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11054 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11057 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11059 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11062 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11063 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11064 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11066 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11068 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11069 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11070 @samp{mail2news}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11077 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11080 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11084 @node Combined Groups
11085 @section Combined Groups
11087 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11091 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11092 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11096 @node Virtual Groups
11097 @subsection Virtual Groups
11099 @cindex virtual groups
11101 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11104 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11105 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11106 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11108 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11109 regexp to match component groups.
11111 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11112 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11113 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11114 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11115 the virtual group.)
11117 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11118 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11121 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11124 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11125 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11127 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11128 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11129 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11130 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11133 "^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11136 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11137 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11138 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11140 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11141 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11142 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11143 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11144 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11146 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11147 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11148 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11150 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11151 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11152 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11153 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11154 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11155 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11156 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11157 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11158 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11159 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11160 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11163 @node Kibozed Groups
11164 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11168 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11169 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11170 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11171 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11173 @kindex G k (Group)
11174 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11177 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11178 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11179 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11180 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11182 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11183 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11184 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11186 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11187 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11188 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11189 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11190 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11191 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11192 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11193 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11195 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11196 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11197 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11198 Stranger things have happened.
11200 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11201 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11203 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11204 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11205 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11206 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11207 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11208 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11210 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11211 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11214 @node Gnus Unplugged
11215 @section Gnus Unplugged
11220 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11222 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11223 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11224 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11225 read news. Believe it or not.
11227 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11228 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11229 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11230 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11231 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11233 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11234 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11235 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11236 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11237 reading news on a machine.
11239 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11243 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11244 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11248 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11249 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11256 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11258 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11261 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11262 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11263 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11264 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11265 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11266 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11267 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11268 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11273 @subsection Agent Basics
11275 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11277 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11278 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11279 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11280 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11282 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11283 connected to the net continuously.
11285 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11286 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11288 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11293 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11294 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11295 already fetched while in this mode.
11298 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11299 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11300 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11303 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11304 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11305 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11306 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11309 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11310 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11311 then you read the news offline.
11314 And then you go to step 2.
11317 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11323 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11324 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11325 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11326 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11327 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11328 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11331 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11338 @node Agent Categories
11339 @subsection Agent Categories
11341 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11342 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11343 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11344 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11345 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11346 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11347 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11349 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11350 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11351 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11354 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11355 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11356 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11360 @node Category Syntax
11361 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11363 A category consists of two things.
11367 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11368 are eligible for downloading; and
11371 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11372 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11373 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11376 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11379 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11381 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11382 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11388 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11389 short (for some value of ``short'').
11391 Here's a more complex predicate:
11400 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11401 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11404 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11405 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11406 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11408 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11409 you want to do, you can write your own.
11413 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11414 lines; default 100.
11417 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11418 lines; default 200.
11421 True iff the article has a download score less than
11422 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11425 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11426 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11429 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11430 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11431 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11440 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11441 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11442 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11445 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11446 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11447 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11448 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11449 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11450 and @code{References}.
11453 @node The Category Buffer
11454 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11456 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11457 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11458 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11460 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11464 @kindex q (Category)
11465 @findex gnus-category-exit
11466 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11469 @kindex k (Category)
11470 @findex gnus-category-kill
11471 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11474 @kindex c (Category)
11475 @findex gnus-category-copy
11476 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11479 @kindex a (Category)
11480 @findex gnus-category-add
11481 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11484 @kindex p (Category)
11485 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11486 Edit the predicate of the current category
11487 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11490 @kindex g (Category)
11491 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11492 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11493 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11496 @kindex s (Category)
11497 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11498 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11499 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11502 @kindex l (Category)
11503 @findex gnus-category-list
11504 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11508 @node Category Variables
11509 @subsubsection Category Variables
11512 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11513 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11514 Hook run in category buffers.
11516 @item gnus-category-line-format
11517 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11518 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11519 Variables}). Legal elements are:
11523 The name of the category.
11526 The number of groups in the category.
11529 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11530 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11531 Format of the category mode line.
11533 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11534 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11535 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11537 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11538 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11539 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11541 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11542 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11543 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11546 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11547 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11548 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11554 @node Agent Commands
11555 @subsection Agent Commands
11557 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11558 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11559 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11563 * Group Agent Commands::
11564 * Summary Agent Commands::
11565 * Server Agent Commands::
11568 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11569 following incantation:
11571 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11573 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11578 @node Group Agent Commands
11579 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11583 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11584 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11585 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11586 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11589 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11590 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11591 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11594 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11595 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11596 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11597 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11600 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11601 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11602 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11603 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11606 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11607 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11608 Add the current group to an Agent category
11609 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11614 @node Summary Agent Commands
11615 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11619 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11620 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11621 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11624 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11625 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11626 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11627 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11630 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11631 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11632 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11635 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11636 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11637 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11642 @node Server Agent Commands
11643 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11647 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11648 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11649 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11650 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11653 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11654 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11655 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11656 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11662 @subsection Agent Expiry
11664 @vindex gnus-agent-expiry-days
11665 @findex gnus-agent-expiry
11666 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expiry
11667 @cindex Agent expiry
11668 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
11671 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
11672 @code{gnus-agent-expiry} command that will expire all read articles that
11673 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expiry-days} days. It can be run
11674 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
11675 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
11676 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
11678 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
11679 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
11680 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
11681 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
11682 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
11685 @node Outgoing Messages
11686 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11688 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11689 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11690 after posting, and edit them at will.
11692 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11693 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11694 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11695 messages in the draft group.
11699 @node Agent Variables
11700 @subsection Agent Variables
11703 @item gnus-agent-directory
11704 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11705 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11706 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11708 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11709 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11710 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11711 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11712 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11715 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11716 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11717 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11719 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11720 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11721 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11726 @node Example Setup
11727 @subsection Example Setup
11729 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11730 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11731 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11734 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11735 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11736 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11738 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11739 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11740 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11741 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11743 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11744 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11746 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11750 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11751 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11754 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11755 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11756 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11757 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11758 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11761 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11762 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11763 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11764 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11765 back all the killed groups.)
11767 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11768 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11769 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11772 @node Batching Agents
11773 @subsection Batching Agents
11775 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11776 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11777 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11781 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11790 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11791 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11792 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11795 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11796 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11797 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11798 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11799 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11801 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11802 before generating the summary buffer.
11804 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11805 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11806 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11808 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11809 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11810 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11811 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11814 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11815 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11816 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11817 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11818 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11819 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11820 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11821 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11822 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11823 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11824 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11825 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11826 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11827 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11828 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11829 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11833 @node Summary Score Commands
11834 @section Summary Score Commands
11835 @cindex score commands
11837 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11838 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11839 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11840 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11841 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11843 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11844 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11845 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11846 score file the current one.
11848 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11853 @kindex V s (Summary)
11854 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11855 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11858 @kindex V S (Summary)
11859 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11860 Display the score of the current article
11861 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11864 @kindex V t (Summary)
11865 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11866 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11867 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11870 @kindex V R (Summary)
11871 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11872 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11873 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11874 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11875 effect you're having.
11878 @kindex V c (Summary)
11879 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11880 Make a different score file the current
11881 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11884 @kindex V e (Summary)
11885 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11886 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11887 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11891 @kindex V f (Summary)
11892 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11893 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11894 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11897 @kindex V F (Summary)
11898 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11899 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11900 after editing score files.
11903 @kindex V C (Summary)
11904 @findex gnus-score-customize
11905 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11906 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11910 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11915 @kindex V m (Summary)
11916 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11917 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11918 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11921 @kindex V x (Summary)
11922 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11923 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11924 expunge all articles below this score
11925 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11928 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11929 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
11932 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
11933 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
11937 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
11938 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
11940 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
11941 keys are available:
11945 Score on the author name.
11948 Score on the subject line.
11951 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
11954 Score on thread---the References line.
11960 Score on the number of lines.
11963 Score on the Message-ID.
11966 Score on followups.
11976 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
11977 what headers you are scoring on.
11989 Substring matching.
11992 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12021 Greater than number.
12026 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12027 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12028 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12032 Temporary score entry.
12035 Permanent score entry.
12038 Immediately scoring.
12043 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12044 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12045 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12046 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12048 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12049 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12050 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12051 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12052 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12054 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12055 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12056 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12057 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12058 current score file.
12060 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12061 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12062 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12065 @node Group Score Commands
12066 @section Group Score Commands
12067 @cindex group score commands
12069 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12074 @kindex W f (Group)
12075 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12076 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12077 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12078 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12082 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12084 @findex gnus-batch-score
12085 @cindex batch scoring
12087 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
12091 @node Score Variables
12092 @section Score Variables
12093 @cindex score variables
12097 @item gnus-use-scoring
12098 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12099 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12100 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12102 @item gnus-kill-killed
12103 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12104 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12105 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12106 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12107 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12108 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12109 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12111 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12112 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12113 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12114 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12115 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12117 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12118 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12119 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12120 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12122 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12123 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12124 @cindex score cache
12125 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12126 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12127 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
12128 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12129 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12130 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12133 @item gnus-save-score
12134 @vindex gnus-save-score
12135 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12136 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12137 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12139 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12140 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12141 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12142 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12143 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12144 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12145 manually entered data.
12147 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12148 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12149 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12151 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12152 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12153 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12154 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12155 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12156 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12158 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12159 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12160 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12161 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12163 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12164 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12165 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12166 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12168 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12169 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12170 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12171 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12173 Predefined functions available are:
12176 @item gnus-score-find-single
12177 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12178 Only apply the group's own score file.
12180 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12181 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12182 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12183 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12184 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12185 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12186 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12187 then a regexp match is done.
12189 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12190 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12192 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12193 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12194 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12195 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12197 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12198 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12199 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12200 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12201 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12204 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12205 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12206 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12207 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12208 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12209 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12212 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12213 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12214 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12215 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12216 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12218 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12219 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12220 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12221 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12222 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12223 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12224 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12227 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12228 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12229 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12231 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12232 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12233 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12234 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12235 threading---according to the current value of
12236 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12237 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12238 simplified in this manner.
12243 @node Score File Format
12244 @section Score File Format
12245 @cindex score file format
12247 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12248 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12249 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12251 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12255 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12257 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12259 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12261 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12266 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12270 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12271 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12272 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12273 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12277 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12278 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12280 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12281 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12282 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12284 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12289 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12290 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12291 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12292 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12293 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12294 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12295 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12296 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12297 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12298 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12299 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12300 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12301 to articles that matches these score entries.
12303 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12304 score entry has one to four elements.
12308 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12309 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12313 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12314 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12315 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12316 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12317 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12318 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12321 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12322 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12323 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12324 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12325 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12328 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12329 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12330 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12331 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12334 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12335 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12336 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12337 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12338 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12339 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12340 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12341 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12342 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12343 instead, if you feel like.
12346 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12347 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
12348 careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
12349 @code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
12350 lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
12351 the articles with few lines.
12354 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12355 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12356 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12357 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12358 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12359 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12360 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12364 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12365 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12366 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12367 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12368 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12369 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12370 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12371 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12374 @item Head, Body, All
12375 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12379 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12380 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12381 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12382 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12383 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12384 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12385 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12389 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12390 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12391 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12392 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12393 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12394 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12395 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12396 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12397 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12398 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12402 @cindex Score File Atoms
12404 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12405 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12408 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12409 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12411 @item mark-and-expunge
12412 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12413 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12416 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12417 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12418 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12419 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12420 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12423 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12424 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12427 @item exclude-files
12428 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12429 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12433 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12434 ignored when handling global score files.
12437 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12438 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12439 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12440 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12443 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12444 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12445 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12446 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12448 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12452 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12455 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12456 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12457 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12458 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12459 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12461 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12462 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12463 ordinary scoring rules.
12466 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12467 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12468 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12469 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12470 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12471 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12472 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12473 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12474 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12475 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12476 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12480 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12481 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12482 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12483 file for a number of groups.
12486 @cindex local variables
12487 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12488 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12489 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12490 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12491 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12495 @node Score File Editing
12496 @section Score File Editing
12498 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12499 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12500 with a mode for that.
12502 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12503 additional commands:
12508 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12509 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12510 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12511 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12514 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12515 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12516 Insert the current date in numerical format
12517 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12518 you were wondering.
12521 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12522 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12523 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12524 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12525 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12530 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12532 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12533 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12535 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12536 e} to begin editing score files.
12539 @node Adaptive Scoring
12540 @section Adaptive Scoring
12541 @cindex adaptive scoring
12543 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12544 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12545 stupidity, to be precise.
12547 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12548 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12549 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12550 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12551 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12552 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12553 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12554 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12555 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12557 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12558 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12559 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12560 might look something like this:
12563 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12564 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12565 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12566 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12567 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12568 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12569 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12570 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12571 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12572 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12573 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12574 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12577 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12578 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12579 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12580 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12581 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12582 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12585 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12586 will be applied to each article.
12588 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12589 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12590 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12591 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12593 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12594 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12595 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12596 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12598 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12599 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12600 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12601 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12603 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12604 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12605 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12606 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12607 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12608 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12610 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12611 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12612 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12613 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12614 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12615 aspirins afterwards.)
12617 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12618 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12619 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12621 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12622 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12623 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12625 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12626 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12627 let you use different rules in different groups.
12629 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12630 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12631 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12634 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12635 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12636 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12637 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12638 the length of the match is less than
12639 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12640 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12643 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12644 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12645 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12646 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12647 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12650 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12651 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12652 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12653 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12654 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12657 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12658 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12659 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12660 score with 30 points.
12662 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12663 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12664 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12665 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12666 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12668 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12669 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12670 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12671 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12673 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12674 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12675 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12676 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12678 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12679 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12680 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12682 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12683 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12684 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12685 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12688 @node Home Score File
12689 @section Home Score File
12691 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12692 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12693 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12694 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12696 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12697 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12698 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12700 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12701 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12706 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12710 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12711 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12715 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12719 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12720 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12723 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12724 the home score file.
12727 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12730 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12735 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12738 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12739 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12742 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12743 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12746 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12747 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12750 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12752 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12753 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12754 their own home score files:
12757 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12758 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12759 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12760 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12761 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
12764 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12765 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12766 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12767 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12768 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12770 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12771 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12772 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12773 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12774 precedence over this variable.
12777 @node Followups To Yourself
12778 @section Followups To Yourself
12780 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12781 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12782 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12783 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12784 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12785 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12789 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12790 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12791 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12794 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12795 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12796 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12800 @vindex message-sent-hook
12801 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12802 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12804 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12805 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12809 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12810 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12813 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12814 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12819 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12823 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12824 is system-dependent.
12828 @section Scoring Tips
12829 @cindex scoring tips
12835 @cindex scoring crossposts
12836 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12837 the @code{Xref} header.
12839 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12842 @item Multiple crossposts
12843 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12844 more than, say, 3 groups:
12846 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12849 @item Matching on the body
12850 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12851 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12852 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12853 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12854 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12855 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12856 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12859 @item Marking as read
12860 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12861 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12862 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12866 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12868 @item Negated character classes
12869 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12870 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12871 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12875 @node Reverse Scoring
12876 @section Reverse Scoring
12877 @cindex reverse scoring
12879 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12880 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12881 like this in your score file:
12885 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12890 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12891 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12894 @node Global Score Files
12895 @section Global Score Files
12896 @cindex global score files
12898 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12899 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
12900 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
12902 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
12903 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
12904 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
12906 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
12907 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
12908 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
12909 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
12910 files are applicable to which group.
12912 Say you want to use the score file
12913 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
12914 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
12917 (setq gnus-global-score-files
12918 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
12919 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
12922 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
12923 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
12924 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
12925 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
12926 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
12928 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
12929 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
12931 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
12932 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
12933 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
12934 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
12935 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
12936 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
12938 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
12944 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
12946 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
12948 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
12950 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
12951 lowered out of existence.
12953 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
12954 articles completely.
12957 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
12958 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
12959 old articles for a long time.
12962 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
12963 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
12964 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
12965 holding our breath yet?
12969 @section Kill Files
12972 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
12973 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
12974 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
12976 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
12977 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
12978 files into score files.
12980 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
12981 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
12982 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
12983 that isn't a very good idea.
12985 Normal kill files look like this:
12988 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12989 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
12993 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
12994 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
12996 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
12997 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13000 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13005 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13006 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13007 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13010 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13011 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13012 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13015 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13020 @kindex M-k (Group)
13021 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13022 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13025 @kindex M-K (Group)
13026 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13027 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13030 Kill file variables:
13033 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13034 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13035 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13036 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13037 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13038 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13039 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13041 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13042 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13043 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13044 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13047 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13048 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13049 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13050 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13051 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13052 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13053 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13054 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13055 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13057 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13058 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13059 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13064 @node Converting Kill Files
13065 @section Converting Kill Files
13067 @cindex converting kill files
13069 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13070 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13071 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13074 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13075 You can fetch it from
13076 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13078 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13079 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13080 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13088 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13089 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13090 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13092 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13093 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13094 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13095 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13096 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13097 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13098 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13099 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13103 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13104 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13105 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13106 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13110 @node Using GroupLens
13111 @subsection Using GroupLens
13113 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13115 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13116 better bit in town at the moment.
13118 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13122 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13123 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13124 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13125 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13127 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13128 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13129 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13130 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13132 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13133 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13134 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13138 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13139 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13140 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13141 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13142 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13143 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13146 @node Rating Articles
13147 @subsection Rating Articles
13149 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13150 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13151 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13152 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13155 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13160 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13161 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13162 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13165 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13166 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13167 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13168 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13169 threads in rec.humor.
13173 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13174 the score of the article you're reading.
13179 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13180 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13181 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13184 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13185 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13186 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13190 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13191 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13194 @node Displaying Predictions
13195 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13197 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13198 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13199 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13200 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13201 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13203 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13204 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13205 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13206 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13207 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13208 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13209 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13210 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13211 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13212 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13213 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13214 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13215 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13217 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13218 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13219 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13220 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13222 The following are valid values for that variable.
13225 @item prediction-spot
13226 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13229 @item confidence-interval
13230 A numeric confidence interval.
13232 @item prediction-bar
13233 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13235 @item confidence-bar
13236 Numerical confidence.
13238 @item confidence-spot
13239 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13241 @item prediction-num
13242 Plain-old numeric value.
13244 @item confidence-plus-minus
13245 Prediction +/- confidence.
13250 @node GroupLens Variables
13251 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13255 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13256 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13257 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13258 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13261 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13262 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13265 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13266 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13268 @item grouplens-score-offset
13269 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13270 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13273 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13274 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13275 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13280 @node Advanced Scoring
13281 @section Advanced Scoring
13283 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13284 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13285 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13286 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13287 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13289 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13293 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13294 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13295 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13299 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13300 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13302 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13303 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13304 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13305 non-@code{nil} value.
13307 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13308 operator, and various match operators.
13315 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13316 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13317 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13322 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13323 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13324 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13329 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13330 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13334 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13335 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13336 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13337 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13338 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13339 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13340 the ancestry you want to go.
13342 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13343 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13344 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13345 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13346 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13349 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13350 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13352 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13353 when he's talking about Gnus:
13357 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13358 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13364 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13368 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13375 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13376 really don't want to read what he's written:
13380 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13381 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13385 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13386 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13387 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13394 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13395 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13396 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13397 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13401 The possibilities are endless.
13404 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13405 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13407 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13408 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13409 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13410 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13411 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13412 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13413 @samp{subject}) first.
13415 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13416 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13427 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13428 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13434 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13441 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13442 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13447 @section Score Decays
13448 @cindex score decays
13451 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13452 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13453 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13454 use them in any sensible way.
13456 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13457 @findex gnus-decay-score
13458 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
13459 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13460 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13461 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13462 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13463 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
13464 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13465 definition of that function:
13468 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13469 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13472 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13474 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13476 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13479 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13480 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13481 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13482 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13486 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13489 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13492 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13496 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13497 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13498 the new score, which should be an integer.
13500 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13501 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13508 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13509 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13510 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13511 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13512 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13513 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13514 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13515 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13516 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13517 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13518 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13519 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13520 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13521 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13522 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13523 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13524 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
13525 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13529 @node Process/Prefix
13530 @section Process/Prefix
13531 @cindex process/prefix convention
13533 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13534 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13536 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13537 command to be performed on.
13541 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13542 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13543 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13544 with the current one.
13546 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13547 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13548 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13550 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13551 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13554 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13555 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13557 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13560 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13561 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13562 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13563 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13565 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13566 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13567 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13568 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13569 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13570 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13571 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13572 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13576 @section Interactive
13577 @cindex interaction
13581 @item gnus-novice-user
13582 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13583 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13584 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13585 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13586 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13589 @item gnus-expert-user
13590 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13591 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
13592 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13593 matter how strange.
13595 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13596 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13597 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13598 is @code{t} by default.
13600 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13601 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13602 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13607 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13608 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13609 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13611 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13612 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
13613 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13614 rule of 900 to the current article.
13616 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13617 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13618 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13619 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13620 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13621 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13622 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13624 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13625 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13626 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13627 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13628 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13629 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13630 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13631 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13632 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13634 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13635 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13636 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13638 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13642 @node Formatting Variables
13643 @section Formatting Variables
13644 @cindex formatting variables
13646 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13647 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13648 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13649 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13652 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13653 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13654 lots of percentages everywhere.
13657 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13658 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13659 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13660 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13663 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13664 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13665 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13666 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13667 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13668 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13669 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13670 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13672 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13673 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13675 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13676 @findex gnus-update-format
13677 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13678 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13679 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13680 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13684 @node Formatting Basics
13685 @subsection Formatting Basics
13687 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13688 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13689 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13691 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13692 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13693 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13694 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13695 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13698 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13699 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13700 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13701 less than 4 characters wide.
13704 @node Advanced Formatting
13705 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13707 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13708 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13709 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13710 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13712 These are the valid modifiers:
13717 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13721 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13726 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13729 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13734 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13737 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13740 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13743 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13747 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13748 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13749 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13750 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13751 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13752 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13753 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13755 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13756 last operation, padding.
13758 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13759 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13760 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13761 @xref{Compilation}.
13764 @node User-Defined Specs
13765 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13767 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13768 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13769 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13770 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13771 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13772 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13773 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13774 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13775 should protect against that.
13777 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13778 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13779 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13780 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13784 @node Formatting Fonts
13785 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13787 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13788 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13789 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13790 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13793 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
13794 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13795 default. If you say @samp{%1[}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13796 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13797 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13798 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13800 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13803 ;; Create three face types.
13804 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13805 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13807 ;; We want the article count to be in
13808 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13809 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13810 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13812 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13813 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13815 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13816 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13817 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13820 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13821 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13823 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13824 mode-line variables.
13827 @node Windows Configuration
13828 @section Windows Configuration
13829 @cindex windows configuration
13831 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13833 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13834 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13835 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13836 @code{t} by default.
13838 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13839 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13840 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13843 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13844 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13845 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13849 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13850 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13851 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13852 possible names is listed below.
13854 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13855 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13858 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13862 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13863 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13864 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13865 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13866 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13867 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13868 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13869 size spec per split.
13871 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13872 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
13873 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
13874 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
13875 present) gets focus.
13877 Here's a more complicated example:
13880 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
13881 (summary 0.25 point)
13882 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
13886 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
13887 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
13888 occupy, not a percentage.
13890 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
13891 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
13892 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
13893 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
13894 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
13897 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
13900 (article (horizontal 1.0
13905 (summary 0.25 point)
13910 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
13911 @code{horizontal} thingie?
13913 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
13914 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
13915 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
13916 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
13917 the screen is to be given to this strip.
13919 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
13920 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
13921 lines from the splits.
13923 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
13927 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
13928 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
13929 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
13930 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
13931 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
13932 size = number | frame-params
13933 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
13936 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
13937 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
13938 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
13939 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
13941 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
13942 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
13943 @cindex window height
13944 @cindex window width
13945 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
13946 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
13947 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
13948 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
13949 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
13950 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
13952 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
13953 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
13954 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
13955 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
13957 @findex gnus-configure-frame
13958 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
13959 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
13960 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
13961 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
13962 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
13963 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
13964 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
13965 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
13966 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
13967 configuration list.
13970 (gnus-configure-frame
13974 (article 0.3 point))
13982 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
13983 @code{frame} split:
13986 (gnus-configure-frame
13989 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
13991 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
13992 (user-position . t)
13993 (left . -1) (top . 1))
13998 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
13999 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14000 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14001 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14002 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14003 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14004 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14005 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14008 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14009 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14011 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14012 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14013 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14014 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14015 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14016 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14018 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14019 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14020 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14024 (message (horizontal 1.0
14025 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14027 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14032 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14033 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14034 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14035 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14036 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14039 (gnus-add-configuration
14040 '(article (vertical 1.0
14042 (summary .25 point)
14046 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14047 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14048 Gnus has been loaded.
14050 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14051 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14052 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14053 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14054 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14057 @node Faces and Fonts
14058 @section Faces and Fonts
14063 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14064 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14065 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14070 @section Compilation
14071 @cindex compilation
14072 @cindex byte-compilation
14074 @findex gnus-compile
14076 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14077 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14078 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14079 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14080 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14081 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14084 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14085 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14086 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14087 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14088 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14089 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14090 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14094 @section Mode Lines
14097 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14098 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14099 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14100 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14101 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14102 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14103 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14106 @cindex display-time
14108 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14109 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14110 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14111 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14112 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14113 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14114 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14115 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14118 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14120 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14121 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14123 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14124 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14125 (length display-time-string)))))
14128 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14129 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14130 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14131 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14132 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14135 @node Highlighting and Menus
14136 @section Highlighting and Menus
14138 @cindex highlighting
14141 @vindex gnus-visual
14142 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14143 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14144 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14147 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14148 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14151 @item group-highlight
14152 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14153 @item summary-highlight
14154 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14155 @item article-highlight
14156 Do highlights in the article buffer.
14158 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14160 Create menus in the group buffer.
14162 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14164 Create menus in the article buffer.
14166 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14168 Create menus in the server buffer.
14170 Create menus in the score buffers.
14172 Create menus in all buffers.
14175 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14176 buffers, you could say something like:
14179 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14182 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14185 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14188 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14189 in all Gnus buffers.
14191 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14194 @item gnus-mouse-face
14195 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14196 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14197 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14201 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14205 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14206 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14207 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14209 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14210 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14211 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14213 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14214 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14215 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14217 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14218 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14219 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14221 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14222 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14223 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14225 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14226 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14227 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14238 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14239 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14240 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14241 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14242 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14246 @vindex gnus-carpal
14247 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14248 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14249 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14254 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14255 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14256 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14258 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14259 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14260 Face used on buttons.
14262 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14263 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14264 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14266 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14267 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14268 Buttons in the group buffer.
14270 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14271 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14272 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14274 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14275 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14276 Buttons in the server buffer.
14278 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14279 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14280 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14283 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14284 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14285 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14293 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14294 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14295 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14296 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14297 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14299 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14300 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14301 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14303 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14304 been idle for thirty minutes:
14307 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14310 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14314 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14317 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14318 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14319 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14321 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14322 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14323 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14324 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14326 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14327 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14328 @var{idle} minutes.
14330 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14331 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14334 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14335 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14336 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14338 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14339 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14340 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14341 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14343 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14344 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14345 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14347 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14348 your @file{.gnus} file:
14350 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14352 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14355 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14356 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14357 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14358 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14359 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14360 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14361 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14362 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14363 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14364 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14365 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14367 @findex gnus-demon-init
14368 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14369 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14370 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14371 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14372 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14374 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14375 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14376 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14385 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14386 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14388 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14389 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14390 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14391 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14394 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14395 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14396 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14397 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14399 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14400 this will make spam disappear.
14402 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14405 @item gnus-use-nocem
14406 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14407 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14410 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14411 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14412 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14413 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14414 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14416 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14417 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14418 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14419 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14420 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14421 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14422 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14424 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14427 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14428 @cindex Chris Lewis
14429 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14430 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14433 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14434 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14435 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14437 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14439 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14442 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14443 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14444 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14447 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14448 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14449 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14450 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14451 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14452 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14453 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14454 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14455 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14456 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14458 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14459 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14462 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14465 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14466 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14469 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14472 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14475 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14476 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14478 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14479 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14480 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14481 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14483 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14484 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14487 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14489 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14497 This might be dangerous, though.
14499 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14500 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14501 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14502 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14504 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14505 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14506 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14507 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14508 might then see old spam.
14512 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14513 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14514 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14515 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14522 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14523 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14524 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14526 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14527 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14528 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14529 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14530 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14531 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14532 @code{undo} function.
14534 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14535 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14536 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14537 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14538 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14539 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14540 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14541 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14542 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14543 never be totally undoable.
14545 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14546 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14548 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14549 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14550 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14551 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14556 @section Moderation
14559 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14560 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14561 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14564 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14568 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14571 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14573 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14578 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14579 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14580 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14583 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14584 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14587 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14588 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14592 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14595 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14596 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14600 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14601 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14604 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14608 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14609 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14610 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14611 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14624 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14625 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14626 over your shoulder as you read news.
14629 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14630 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14631 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14632 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14633 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14638 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14640 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14649 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14650 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14651 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14652 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14653 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14654 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14655 @code{GIF} formats.
14658 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14659 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
14660 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
14661 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string
14662 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
14664 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14665 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
14666 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at
14667 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
14668 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14669 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14672 @node Picon Requirements
14673 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14675 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14676 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14679 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
14680 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
14681 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
14683 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14684 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
14685 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
14686 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14687 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14691 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14693 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14694 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14697 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14698 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14699 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14702 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
14703 containing the Picons databases.
14705 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
14708 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
14713 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14721 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14722 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14723 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14724 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14725 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
14730 @item gnus-picons-database
14731 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14732 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14733 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14734 subdirectories. This is only useful if
14735 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
14736 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14738 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14739 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14740 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
14741 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
14742 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
14743 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
14744 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14746 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14747 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14748 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14749 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14750 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14751 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14752 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14753 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14755 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14756 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14757 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14762 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14763 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14765 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
14766 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
14769 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14770 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14772 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14773 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14774 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14775 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14776 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14778 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14779 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14780 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14781 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14785 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14786 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14789 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14793 @node Picon Useless Configuration
14794 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
14802 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14803 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14804 don't need to worry about.
14808 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
14809 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
14810 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14811 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
14813 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14814 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14815 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14816 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14818 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14819 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14820 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14821 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14822 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
14824 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14825 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14826 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
14827 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14828 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14829 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14830 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14832 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14833 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14834 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14835 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14837 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14838 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14839 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
14840 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
14841 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
14842 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
14843 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
14845 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14846 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14847 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
14848 Defaults to @code{nil}.
14850 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
14851 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
14852 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
14853 Defaults to @code{t}.
14855 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14856 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14857 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
14858 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
14860 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14861 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14862 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
14863 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
14865 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14866 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14867 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
14868 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
14869 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
14870 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
14871 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
14872 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
14883 @subsection Smileys
14888 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
14893 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
14894 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
14896 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
14897 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14900 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
14903 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
14904 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
14905 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
14906 text and maps that to file names.
14908 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
14909 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
14910 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
14911 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
14912 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
14913 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
14915 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
14916 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
14918 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
14919 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
14920 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
14922 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
14923 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
14927 @item smiley-data-directory
14928 @vindex smiley-data-directory
14929 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
14931 @item smiley-flesh-color
14932 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
14933 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
14935 @item smiley-features-color
14936 @vindex smiley-features-color
14937 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14939 @item smiley-tongue-color
14940 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
14941 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
14943 @item smiley-circle-color
14944 @vindex smiley-circle-color
14945 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
14947 @item smiley-mouse-face
14948 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
14949 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
14955 @subsection Toolbar
14965 @item gnus-use-toolbar
14966 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
14967 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
14968 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
14969 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
14971 @item gnus-group-toolbar
14972 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
14973 The toolbar in the group buffer.
14975 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
14976 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
14977 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
14979 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14980 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
14981 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
14987 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
14990 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14991 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
14992 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
14993 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
14994 unusual directory structure.
14996 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14997 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
14998 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
14999 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15001 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15002 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15003 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15004 Legal values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15005 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15006 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15008 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15009 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15010 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15024 @node Fuzzy Matching
15025 @section Fuzzy Matching
15026 @cindex fuzzy matching
15028 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15029 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15031 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15032 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15033 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15035 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15036 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15037 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15038 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15039 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15042 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15043 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15047 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15049 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15050 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15051 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15052 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15053 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15054 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15055 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15056 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15059 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15060 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15061 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15062 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15063 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15064 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15068 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15069 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15071 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15072 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15073 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15074 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15075 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15076 part of the mail address.)
15079 (setq message-default-news-headers
15080 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15083 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15084 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15089 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15090 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15091 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15097 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15098 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15099 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15100 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15102 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15103 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15104 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15105 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15106 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15107 your fancy split rule in this way:
15112 (to "larsi" "misc")
15116 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15117 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15118 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15119 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15120 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15122 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15123 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15124 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15125 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15126 cosmic balance somewhat.
15128 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15129 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15130 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15131 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15134 @node Various Various
15135 @section Various Various
15141 @item gnus-home-directory
15142 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15143 defaults to @file{~/}.
15145 @item gnus-directory
15146 @vindex gnus-directory
15147 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15148 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15149 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15151 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15152 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15153 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15154 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15156 @item gnus-default-directory
15157 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15158 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15159 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15160 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15161 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15162 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15163 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15166 @vindex gnus-verbose
15167 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15168 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15169 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15170 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15171 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15173 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15174 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15175 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15176 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15178 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15179 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15180 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15181 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15182 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15183 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15184 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15185 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15186 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15187 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15189 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15190 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15191 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15192 read when doing the operation described above.
15194 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15195 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15197 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15198 @cindex characters in file names
15199 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15200 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15201 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15204 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15208 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15209 Windows (phooey) systems.
15211 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15212 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15213 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15214 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15215 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15217 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15218 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15219 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15220 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15221 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15223 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15224 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15225 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15234 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15235 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15237 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15239 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15245 Not because of victories @*
15248 but for the common sunshine,@*
15250 the largess of the spring.
15254 but for the day's work done@*
15255 as well as I was able;@*
15256 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15257 but at the common table.@*
15262 @chapter Appendices
15265 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15266 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15267 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15268 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15269 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15270 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15271 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15279 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15280 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15282 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15283 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15284 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15285 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15286 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15288 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15289 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15290 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15291 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15292 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15293 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15295 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15296 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15297 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15298 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15300 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15301 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15302 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15304 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15305 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15307 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15308 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4''.
15310 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15311 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15312 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15313 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15314 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15318 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15319 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15320 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15321 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15322 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15323 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15324 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15331 What's the point of Gnus?
15333 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15334 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15335 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15336 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15337 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15338 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15339 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15340 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15341 keep track of millions of people who post?
15343 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15344 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15345 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15346 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15347 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15348 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15349 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15350 every one of you to explore and invent.
15352 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15353 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15356 @node Compatibility
15357 @subsection Compatibility
15359 @cindex compatibility
15360 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15361 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15362 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15367 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15371 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15374 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15377 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15378 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15379 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15380 important variables have their values copied into their global
15381 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15382 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15384 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15385 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15386 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15387 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15388 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15392 @cindex highlighting
15393 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15394 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15395 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15396 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15397 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15398 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15401 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15402 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15403 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15404 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15406 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15407 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15408 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15409 to stop doing it the old way.
15411 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15413 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15415 @cindex reporting bugs
15417 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15418 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15419 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15421 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15422 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15423 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15424 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15429 @subsection Conformity
15431 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15432 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15439 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15443 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15445 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15446 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15447 We do have some breaches to this one.
15452 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15453 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15456 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15457 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15458 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15459 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15460 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15465 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15466 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15471 @subsection Emacsen
15477 Gnus should work on :
15482 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15485 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15488 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15492 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15493 reliably, at least.
15495 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15496 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15497 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15502 @subsection Contributors
15503 @cindex contributors
15505 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15506 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15507 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15508 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15509 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15510 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15511 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15512 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15513 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15514 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15516 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15522 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15525 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15526 well as numerous other things).
15529 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15532 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15535 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15536 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15539 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15542 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15543 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15546 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15549 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15552 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15555 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15558 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15559 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15562 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15565 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15568 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15571 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15575 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15578 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15581 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15584 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
15585 well as autoconf support.
15589 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15590 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15592 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15601 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15605 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15626 Massimo Campostrini,
15631 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15637 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15640 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15644 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15649 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15651 Michelangelo Grigni,
15654 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15656 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
15658 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15663 François Felix Ingrand,
15664 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15666 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15674 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15675 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15676 Thor Kristoffersen,
15678 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15695 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15696 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15703 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15707 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
15709 John McClary Prevost,
15714 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15719 Christian von Roques,
15721 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
15727 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15728 Randal L. Schwartz,
15755 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
15757 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
15759 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15760 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15761 (550kB and counting).
15763 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15766 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15767 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15771 @subsection New Features
15772 @cindex new features
15775 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15776 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15777 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15778 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6.15.
15781 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15782 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15783 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15787 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15789 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15794 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15795 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15798 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15799 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15802 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15805 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15806 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15807 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15810 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15811 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15812 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15813 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15816 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15817 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15820 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15821 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15822 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15825 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15826 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15829 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15830 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15831 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15834 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15835 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15836 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15839 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15840 the @file{.emacs} file.
15843 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15844 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15847 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15848 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15851 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15852 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15855 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15856 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15859 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15860 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
15863 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
15866 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
15867 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
15870 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
15871 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
15874 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
15875 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
15878 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
15881 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
15882 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15885 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
15889 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
15893 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
15894 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
15897 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
15903 @node September Gnus
15904 @subsubsection September Gnus
15908 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
15912 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
15917 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
15918 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
15922 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
15923 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
15927 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
15931 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
15932 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
15935 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
15939 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15942 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
15945 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
15948 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
15952 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
15953 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
15956 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
15960 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
15964 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
15968 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
15972 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
15975 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
15976 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
15979 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
15983 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
15984 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
15987 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
15990 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
15991 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
15992 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
15995 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
15999 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16002 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16006 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16007 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16010 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16011 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16014 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16015 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16018 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16019 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16020 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16023 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16024 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16027 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16030 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16033 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16034 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16038 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16041 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16044 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16045 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16048 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16052 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16055 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16060 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16063 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16067 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16070 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16074 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16077 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16080 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16081 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16084 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16085 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16089 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16090 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16093 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16097 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16098 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16101 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16104 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16108 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16112 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16113 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16116 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16120 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16121 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16124 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16125 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16128 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16132 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16135 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16136 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16140 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16143 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16149 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16151 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16155 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16162 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16165 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16166 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16169 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16170 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16174 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16175 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16178 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16181 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16182 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16185 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16189 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16190 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16194 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16195 Server Internals}).
16198 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16202 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16205 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16206 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16209 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16210 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16211 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16214 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16215 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16218 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16219 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16222 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16226 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16227 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16230 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16231 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16234 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16238 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16241 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16245 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16246 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16249 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16250 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16253 A new command for reading collections of documents
16254 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16255 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16258 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16262 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16263 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16266 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16267 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16268 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16271 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16272 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16276 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16280 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16284 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16289 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16293 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16297 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16298 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16301 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16304 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16311 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16313 New features in Gnus 5.6.15:
16318 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16319 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16320 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16323 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16324 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16325 group, which is created automatically.
16328 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16332 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16335 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16336 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16339 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16343 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16346 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16347 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16350 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16353 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16354 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16357 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16358 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16361 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16362 control over simplification.
16365 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16368 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16372 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16375 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16378 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16379 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16380 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16383 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16384 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16387 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16391 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16392 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16395 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16396 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16399 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16403 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16406 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16409 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16410 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16413 A new function for citing in Message has been
16414 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16417 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16420 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16424 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16425 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16428 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16429 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16432 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16435 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16440 @node Newest Features
16441 @subsection Newest Features
16444 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16447 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16449 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16450 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16453 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16458 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16461 Really do unbinhexing.
16464 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16465 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16468 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16471 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16474 facep is not declared.
16477 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16478 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16481 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16486 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16487 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16488 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16489 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16490 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16491 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16492 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16497 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16500 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16503 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16505 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16506 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16508 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16510 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16512 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16513 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16515 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16517 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16518 be marked as unread.
16520 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
16522 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16524 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16525 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16527 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
16529 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16531 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16532 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16534 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16535 articles aren't displayed.
16537 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16539 implement gnus-score-thread
16541 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16542 make the mail groups killed.
16544 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16546 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16547 and articles have to be removed.
16549 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16552 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16554 finding short score file names takes forever.
16556 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16558 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16560 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16562 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16564 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16566 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16568 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16569 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16573 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16575 really unbinhex binhex files.
16577 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16578 bar and the Gnus bar.
16581 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16582 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16583 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16584 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16585 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16586 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16591 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16595 postponed commands.
16597 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16599 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16602 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16603 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
16605 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16606 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16608 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16610 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16611 for backends that support that.
16613 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16615 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16616 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16618 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16619 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16621 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16623 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16625 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16627 server mode command: close/open all connections
16629 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16630 has been changed before using it.
16632 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16634 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16636 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16638 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16640 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16641 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16643 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16644 contain groups that match a regexp.
16646 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16649 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16652 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16653 from subject lines.
16655 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16657 nntp-ping-before-connect
16659 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16661 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16662 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16664 message annotations.
16666 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16668 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16669 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16671 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16676 support qmail maildir spools
16678 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16680 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16682 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16684 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16685 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16687 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16689 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16691 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16692 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16694 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16695 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16697 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16699 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16701 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16702 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16704 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16706 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16708 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16709 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16712 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16714 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16716 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16717 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16719 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16722 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16723 should be marker as expirable.
16725 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16727 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16728 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16730 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16731 Also consult Date headers.
16733 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16735 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16737 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16738 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16740 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16741 into a See-Also header.
16743 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16745 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16747 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16748 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16750 generate font names dynamically.
16752 score file mode auto-alist.
16754 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16755 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16757 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16758 absolutely all headers there is.
16760 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16761 and pipe them to the process.
16763 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16764 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16765 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16767 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16768 the current mail group.
16770 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16772 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16773 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16775 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16776 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16778 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16780 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16781 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16783 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16784 groups it has been mailed to.
16786 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16788 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16790 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
16792 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16793 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16795 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16796 newlines) should be ignored.
16798 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16799 groups in subtopics as well.
16801 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16803 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16806 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16808 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16810 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16812 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16814 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16816 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16818 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16819 or the formatted article.
16821 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16823 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16824 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16826 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16828 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16830 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16832 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16833 even unread articles.
16835 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16837 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16839 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
16841 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
16843 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16845 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
16848 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
16849 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
16851 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
16852 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
16854 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
16856 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
16858 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
16859 from a particular server? Hm.
16861 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
16862 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
16864 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
16866 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
16867 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
16869 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
16870 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
16872 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
16873 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
16874 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
16877 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
16878 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
16880 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
16882 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
16884 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
16886 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
16889 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
16892 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
16893 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
16895 command to show and edit group scores
16897 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
16900 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
16902 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
16904 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
16905 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
16908 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
16909 that are of that length.
16911 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
16913 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
16915 asynchronous posting under nntp.
16917 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
16919 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
16921 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
16923 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
16924 a score lower than this number.
16926 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
16928 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
16930 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
16931 so that each copy can be edited separately.
16933 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
16935 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
16936 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
16938 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
16941 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
16942 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
16943 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
16944 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
16946 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
16949 command to remove all topic stuff.
16951 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
16952 and splitting the resulting digests.
16954 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
16956 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
16958 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
16959 matches an alist -- before saving.
16961 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
16963 variable to activate each group before entering them
16964 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
16966 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
16967 starting Gnus first if necessary.
16969 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
16970 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
16972 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
16974 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
16975 of several groups at once.
16977 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
16978 matches some regexp(s).
16980 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
16982 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
16984 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
16986 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
16988 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
16990 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
16992 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
16994 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
16995 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
16996 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
16997 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
16999 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17000 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17002 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17004 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17005 recently cited text.
17007 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17009 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17012 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17013 server and just read the articles in the server
17015 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17016 value of nnoo variables.
17018 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17020 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17021 listed in each group info.
17023 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17026 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17027 should only be applied to some groups.
17029 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17030 mail-copies-to: never.
17032 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17033 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17035 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
17037 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17040 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17043 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17045 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17048 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17052 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17054 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17055 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17056 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17057 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17058 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17060 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
17061 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17068 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17069 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17071 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17072 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17074 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17075 "Return the date the group was last read."
17076 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17081 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
17082 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
17083 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17084 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17088 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17089 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17091 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17094 They could be used like this:
17098 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17099 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17100 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17102 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17104 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17107 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17110 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17111 affect the summary line format.
17115 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17117 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17118 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17120 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17123 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17125 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17127 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17129 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17131 - For other files, just find them normally.
17133 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17134 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17137 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17138 tell him what you are doing.
17141 Currently, I get prompted:
17145 decend into sci.something ?
17149 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17150 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17151 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17152 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17155 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17156 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
17157 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17158 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17161 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17162 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17168 more than n blank lines
17170 more than m identical lines
17171 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17173 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17177 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17178 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17179 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17180 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17183 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17184 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17185 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17186 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17189 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17192 soup - bowl of soup
17193 score below - dim light bulb
17194 score over - bright light bulb
17197 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17202 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17203 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17204 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17205 if (articles-selected)
17206 start-reading-selected-articles;
17207 junk-unread-articles;
17212 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17213 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17214 select-thread-under-cursor;
17216 select-article-under-cursor;
17220 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17221 if (more-pages-in-article)
17223 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17230 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17231 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17232 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17235 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17236 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17237 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17238 the wildcard expression).
17241 It would be nice if it also handled
17243 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17245 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17250 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17251 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17252 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17253 article versions) variable.
17255 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17257 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17258 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17262 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17265 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17266 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17267 (message-sent-hook).
17269 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17272 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17276 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17277 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17280 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17281 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17282 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17285 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17286 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17290 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17293 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17297 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17298 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17301 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17302 value of the signature file.
17305 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17306 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17309 (setq message-tab-alist
17310 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17311 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17313 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17317 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17320 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17323 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17326 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17327 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17330 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17333 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17334 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17335 do more gathering by subject.
17338 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17339 article numerical order.
17342 (gnus-thread-total-score
17343 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17347 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17350 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17351 in the summary buffer.
17354 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17355 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17358 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17359 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17360 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17361 and/or newsgroup name.
17364 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17367 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17370 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17373 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17374 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17375 will automatically get the process mark.
17378 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17379 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17380 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17383 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17387 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17388 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17391 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17392 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17396 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17397 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17400 be able to post via DejaNews.
17403 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17406 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17407 allow them to be displayed separately.
17410 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17411 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17414 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17415 articles that match a certain From header.
17418 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17419 saving living summary buffers.
17422 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17423 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17426 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17427 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17430 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17431 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17434 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17435 (goto-char (point-min))
17436 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17437 (replace-match "`" t t))
17438 (goto-char (point-min))
17439 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17440 (replace-match "'" t t))
17441 (goto-char (point-min))
17442 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17443 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17444 (goto-char (point-min))
17445 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17446 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17451 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17453 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17454 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17455 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17456 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17460 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17463 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17464 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17467 gnus-cacheable-groups
17471 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17472 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17473 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17475 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17476 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17478 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17479 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17484 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17485 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17488 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17489 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
17491 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17493 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17494 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17497 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17498 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17501 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17505 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17506 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17509 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17512 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17515 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17518 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17522 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17528 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17531 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17535 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17536 X characters in the body.
17539 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17542 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17545 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17548 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17551 command to display all dormant articles.
17554 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17557 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17558 to something someone else has said.
17561 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17562 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17565 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17566 the displayed version.
17569 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17573 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
17576 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
17577 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
17578 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
17582 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
17583 in the head or body.
17586 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
17589 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
17592 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
17593 in a special, unique buffer.
17596 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
17599 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
17600 is less than a certain number of days old.
17603 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
17606 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
17609 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
17610 file, for instance.
17613 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
17614 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
17615 dummy root instead of the first article.
17618 Solve the halting problem.
17627 @section The Manual
17631 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17632 either @code{texi2dvi}
17634 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17635 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17637 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17639 The following conventions have been used:
17644 This is a @samp{string}
17647 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17650 This is a @file{file}
17653 This is a @code{symbol}
17657 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17661 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17664 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17667 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17670 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17671 ever get them confused.
17675 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17676 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17677 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17678 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17679 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17680 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17681 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17689 @section Terminology
17691 @cindex terminology
17696 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17697 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17698 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17699 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17700 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17704 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17705 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17706 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17707 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17711 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17715 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17720 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17721 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17722 is all done by the backends.
17726 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17727 default, way of getting news.
17731 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17732 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17737 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17738 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17742 A message that has been posted as news.
17745 @cindex mail message
17746 A message that has been mailed.
17750 A mail message or news article
17754 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17759 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17764 A line from the head of an article.
17768 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17769 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17773 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17774 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17775 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17776 normal @sc{head} format.
17780 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17781 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17782 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17783 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17784 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17785 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17787 @item killed groups
17788 @cindex killed groups
17789 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17790 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17792 @item zombie groups
17793 @cindex zombie groups
17794 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17797 @cindex active file
17798 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17799 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17800 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17803 @cindex bogus groups
17804 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17805 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17806 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17809 @cindex activating groups
17810 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17811 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17812 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17816 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17818 @item select method
17819 @cindex select method
17820 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
17823 @item virtual server
17824 @cindex virtual server
17825 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
17826 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
17827 whole is a virtual server.
17831 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
17832 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
17835 @item ephemeral groups
17836 @cindex ephemeral groups
17837 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
17838 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
17839 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
17842 @cindex solid groups
17843 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
17844 group buffer are solid groups.
17846 @item sparse articles
17847 @cindex sparse articles
17848 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
17849 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
17853 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
17854 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
17858 @cindex thread root
17859 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
17860 articles in the thread.
17864 An article that has responses.
17868 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
17872 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
17873 specified by RFC1153.
17879 @node Customization
17880 @section Customization
17881 @cindex general customization
17883 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
17884 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
17885 for some quite common situations.
17888 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
17889 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
17890 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
17891 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
17895 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
17896 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
17898 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
17899 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
17900 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
17904 @item gnus-read-active-file
17905 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
17906 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
17907 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17908 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
17909 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
17911 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
17912 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
17913 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
17914 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
17918 @node Slow Terminal Connection
17919 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
17921 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
17922 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
17923 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
17927 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
17928 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
17929 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
17930 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
17931 horizontal and vertical recentering.
17933 @item gnus-visible-headers
17934 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
17935 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
17936 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
17937 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
17939 @item gnus-article-display-hook
17940 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
17942 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
17943 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
17944 gnus-article-hide-citation))
17947 @item gnus-use-full-window
17948 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
17949 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
17950 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
17951 want to read them anyway.
17953 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
17954 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
17957 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
17958 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
17959 lines, which might save some time.
17963 @node Little Disk Space
17964 @subsection Little Disk Space
17967 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
17968 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
17972 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
17973 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
17974 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
17975 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17978 @item gnus-save-killed-list
17979 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
17980 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
17981 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
17982 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
17988 @subsection Slow Machine
17989 @cindex slow machine
17991 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
17992 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
17994 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
17995 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
17997 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
17998 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
17999 summary buffer faster.
18001 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18002 processing a bit faster.
18006 @node Troubleshooting
18007 @section Troubleshooting
18008 @cindex troubleshooting
18010 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18018 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18021 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18022 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18026 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18027 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18028 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18029 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18032 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18036 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18037 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18038 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18039 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18040 something like that.
18043 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18046 @cindex reporting bugs
18048 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18050 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18051 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18052 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18053 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18055 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18056 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18057 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18058 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18061 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18062 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18063 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18064 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18065 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18066 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18068 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18069 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18070 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18073 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18074 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18076 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18077 @cindex ding mailing list
18078 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18079 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18083 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18084 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18086 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18087 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18088 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18089 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18092 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18093 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18094 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18095 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18096 and general methods of operation.
18099 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18100 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18101 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18102 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18103 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18104 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18105 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18106 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18107 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18111 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18112 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18113 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18114 @cindex utility functions
18116 @cindex internal variables
18118 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18119 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18120 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18124 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18125 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18126 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18128 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18129 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18130 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18132 @item gnus-group-real-name
18133 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18134 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18137 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18138 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18139 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18140 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18142 @item gnus-get-info
18143 @findex gnus-get-info
18144 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18146 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18147 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18148 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18151 @item gnus-continuum-version
18152 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18153 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18154 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18157 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18158 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18159 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18161 @item gnus-news-group-p
18162 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18163 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18165 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18166 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18167 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18169 @item gnus-server-to-method
18170 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18171 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18173 @item gnus-server-equal
18174 @findex gnus-server-equal
18175 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18177 @item gnus-group-native-p
18178 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18179 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18181 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18182 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18183 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18185 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18186 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18187 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18189 @item group-group-find-parameter
18190 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18191 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18192 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18194 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18195 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18196 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18198 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18199 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18200 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18202 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18203 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18204 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18205 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18208 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18212 @item gnus-read-method
18213 @findex gnus-read-method
18214 Prompts the user for a select method.
18219 @node Backend Interface
18220 @subsection Backend Interface
18222 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18223 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18224 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18225 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18226 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18227 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18229 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18230 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18231 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18232 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18233 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18234 been opened, the function should fail.
18236 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18237 name. Take this example:
18241 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18242 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18245 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18246 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18248 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18249 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18250 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18252 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18253 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18254 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18256 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18257 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18258 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18259 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18260 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18261 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18264 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18265 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18266 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18267 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18270 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18273 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18276 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18277 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18278 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18279 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18280 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18281 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18285 @node Required Backend Functions
18286 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18290 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18292 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18293 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18294 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18295 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18297 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18298 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18299 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18300 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18302 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18303 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18304 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18305 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18306 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18307 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18308 number, do maximum fetches.
18310 Here's an example HEAD:
18313 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18314 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18315 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18316 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18317 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18318 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18319 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18321 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18322 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18323 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18327 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18328 these in the data buffer.
18330 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18334 head = error / valid-head
18335 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18336 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18337 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18338 header = <text> eol
18341 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18342 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18346 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18347 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18348 field = <text except TAB>
18351 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18355 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18357 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18358 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18360 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18361 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18362 server. In fact, it should do so.
18364 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18365 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18368 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18370 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18371 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18374 There should be no data returned.
18377 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18379 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18380 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18381 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18382 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18384 There should be no data returned.
18387 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18389 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18390 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18391 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18392 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18394 There should be no data returned.
18397 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
18399 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
18401 There should be no data returned.
18404 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
18406 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
18407 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
18408 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
18409 it would be nice if that were possible.
18411 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
18412 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
18413 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
18414 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
18415 into its article buffer.
18417 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
18418 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
18419 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
18420 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
18421 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
18422 on successful article retrieval.
18425 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
18427 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
18428 making @var{group} the current group.
18430 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18433 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18436 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18439 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18440 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18441 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18442 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18443 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18444 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18445 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18446 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18449 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18450 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18451 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18455 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18457 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18458 a no-op on most backends.
18460 There should be no data returned.
18463 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18465 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18468 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18471 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18472 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18475 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18476 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18479 active-file = *active-line
18480 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18482 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18485 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18486 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18487 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18490 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18492 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18493 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18494 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18495 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18496 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18497 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18499 There should be no result data from this function.
18504 @node Optional Backend Functions
18505 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18509 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18511 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18512 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18513 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18515 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18516 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18517 former is in the same format as the data from
18518 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18519 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18522 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18526 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18528 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18529 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18530 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18531 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18532 should return the (altered) group info.
18534 There should be no result data from this function.
18537 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18539 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18540 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18541 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18542 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18543 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18544 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18545 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18546 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18548 There should be no result data from this function.
18551 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18553 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18554 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18555 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18556 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18557 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18559 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18560 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18561 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18564 There should be no result data from this function.
18567 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18569 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18570 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18571 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18572 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18573 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18574 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18575 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18577 There should be no result data from this function.
18580 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18582 The result data from this function should be a description of
18586 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18588 description = <text>
18591 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18593 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18594 groups available on the server.
18597 description-buffer = *description-line
18601 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18603 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18604 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18605 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18608 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18610 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18612 There should be no return data.
18615 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18617 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18618 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18619 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18620 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18621 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18624 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18627 There should be no result data returned.
18630 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18633 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18634 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18636 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18637 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18638 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18639 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18640 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18641 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18643 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18644 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18647 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18648 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18650 There should be no data returned.
18653 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18655 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18656 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18657 this function in short order.
18659 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18660 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18662 There should be no data returned.
18665 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18667 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18668 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18670 There should be no data returned.
18673 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18675 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18676 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18677 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18679 There should be no data returned.
18682 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18684 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18685 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18687 There should be no data returned.
18692 @node Error Messaging
18693 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18695 @findex nnheader-report
18696 @findex nnheader-get-report
18697 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18698 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18699 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18700 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18701 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18702 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18705 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18707 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18710 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18711 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18712 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18713 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18715 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18716 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18717 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18720 @node Writing New Backends
18721 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18723 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18724 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18725 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18726 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18727 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18730 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18731 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18732 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18734 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18735 package called @code{nnoo}.
18737 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18738 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18744 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18745 parameters. For instance:
18748 (nnoo-declare nndir
18752 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18753 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18756 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18757 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18758 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18760 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18761 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18762 a function in those backends.
18765 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18766 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18767 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18770 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18771 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18772 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18774 @item nnoo-define-basics
18775 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18779 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18783 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18784 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18785 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18787 @item nnoo-map-functions
18788 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18789 functions from the parent backends.
18792 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18793 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18794 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18797 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18798 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18799 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18800 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18803 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18804 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18805 haven't already been defined.
18811 nnmh-request-newgroups)
18815 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
18816 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
18817 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
18822 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
18825 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
18826 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
18830 (require 'nnheader)
18834 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
18836 (nnoo-declare nndir
18839 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18840 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18841 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18843 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
18844 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
18847 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
18848 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
18849 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
18851 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
18852 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
18854 ;;; Interface functions.
18856 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18858 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
18859 (setq nndir-directory
18860 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
18862 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
18863 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
18864 (push `(nndir-current-group
18865 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18867 (push `(nndir-top-directory
18868 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
18870 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
18872 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18873 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18874 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18875 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
18876 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
18880 nnmh-status-message
18882 nnmh-request-newgroups))
18888 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18889 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
18891 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
18892 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
18893 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
18894 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
18896 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
18897 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
18902 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
18905 The abilities can be:
18909 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
18911 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
18913 This backend supports both mail and news.
18915 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
18918 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
18919 articles and groups.
18921 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
18922 true for almost all backends.
18923 @item prompt-address
18924 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
18925 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
18926 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
18930 @node Mail-like Backends
18931 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
18933 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
18934 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
18935 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
18936 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
18939 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
18940 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
18941 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
18944 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
18945 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
18948 This function takes four parameters.
18952 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
18955 @item exit-function
18956 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
18958 @item temp-directory
18959 Where the temporary files should be stored.
18962 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
18963 performed for one group only.
18966 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
18967 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
18968 find the article number assigned to this article.
18970 The function also uses the following variables:
18971 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
18972 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
18973 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
18974 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
18978 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
18979 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
18983 @node Score File Syntax
18984 @subsection Score File Syntax
18986 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
18987 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
18988 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
18990 Here's a typical score file:
18994 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19001 BNF definition of a score file:
19004 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19005 element = rule / atom
19006 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19007 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19008 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19009 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19011 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19012 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19013 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19014 date-header = "date"
19015 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19016 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19017 score = "nil" / <integer>
19018 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19019 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19020 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19021 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19022 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19023 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19024 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19025 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19026 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19027 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19028 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19029 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19030 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19031 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19032 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19033 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19034 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19035 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19036 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19037 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19038 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19039 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19040 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19041 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19042 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19043 eval = "eval" space <form>
19044 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19047 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19050 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19051 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19052 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19053 one looong line, then that's ok.
19055 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19056 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19060 @subsection Headers
19062 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19063 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19064 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19065 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19067 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19068 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19069 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19070 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19071 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19072 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19073 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19075 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19076 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19077 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19078 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19079 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19081 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19088 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19089 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19091 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19092 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19093 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19094 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19096 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19100 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19103 is transformed into
19106 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19109 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19110 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19113 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19116 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19117 is slightly tricky:
19120 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19126 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19129 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19135 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19142 and is equal to the previous range.
19144 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19145 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19146 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19150 range = simple-range / normal-range
19151 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19152 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19153 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19154 number *[ " " contents ]
19157 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19158 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19159 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19160 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19161 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19166 @subsection Group Info
19168 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19169 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19170 describes the group.
19172 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19173 second is a more complex one:
19176 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
19178 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19179 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19181 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19184 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19185 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19186 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19187 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19188 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19189 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19190 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19191 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19192 this section is about.
19194 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19195 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19196 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19198 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19201 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19202 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19203 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19204 group = quote <string> quote
19205 ralevel = rank / level
19206 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19207 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19208 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19210 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19211 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19212 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19213 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19216 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19217 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19220 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19221 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19224 @item gnus-info-group
19225 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19226 @findex gnus-info-group
19227 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19228 Get/set the group name.
19230 @item gnus-info-rank
19231 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19232 @findex gnus-info-rank
19233 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19234 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19236 @item gnus-info-level
19237 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19238 @findex gnus-info-level
19239 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19240 Get/set the group level.
19242 @item gnus-info-score
19243 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19244 @findex gnus-info-score
19245 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19246 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19248 @item gnus-info-read
19249 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19250 @findex gnus-info-read
19251 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19252 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19254 @item gnus-info-marks
19255 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19256 @findex gnus-info-marks
19257 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19258 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19260 @item gnus-info-method
19261 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19262 @findex gnus-info-method
19263 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19264 Get/set the group select method.
19266 @item gnus-info-params
19267 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19268 @findex gnus-info-params
19269 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19270 Get/set the group parameters.
19273 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19274 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19276 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19277 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19278 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19279 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19282 @node Extended Interactive
19283 @subsection Extended Interactive
19284 @cindex interactive
19285 @findex gnus-interactive
19287 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19288 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19289 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19292 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19293 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19298 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19299 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19300 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19301 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19302 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19303 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19304 @code{interactive}.
19306 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19311 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19312 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19316 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19317 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19318 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19321 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19325 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19329 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19335 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19336 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19340 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19341 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19342 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19344 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19345 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19346 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19347 Gnus, that's very useful.
19349 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19350 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19351 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19352 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19353 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19354 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19355 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19356 following function:
19359 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
19363 (,function ,@@args))
19367 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
19368 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
19369 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
19372 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
19373 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
19374 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
19376 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
19377 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
19378 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
19381 @node Various File Formats
19382 @subsection Various File Formats
19385 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
19386 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
19390 @node Active File Format
19391 @subsubsection Active File Format
19393 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
19394 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
19397 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
19400 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
19401 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
19402 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
19403 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
19404 no.general 1000 900 y
19407 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
19410 active = *group-line
19411 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
19412 group = <non-white-space string>
19414 high-number = <non-negative integer>
19415 low-number = <positive integer>
19416 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
19419 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
19420 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
19423 @node Newsgroups File Format
19424 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
19426 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
19427 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
19428 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19431 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19432 Here's the definition:
19436 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19437 group = <non-white-space string>
19439 description = <string>
19444 @node Emacs for Heathens
19445 @section Emacs for Heathens
19447 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19448 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19449 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19450 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19451 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19452 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19453 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19457 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19458 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19463 @subsection Keystrokes
19467 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19470 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19473 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19474 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19475 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19476 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19477 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19478 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19480 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19481 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19482 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19483 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19484 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19485 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19486 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19488 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19489 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19490 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19491 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19492 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19493 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19494 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19496 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19497 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19498 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19499 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19500 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19506 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19508 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19509 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19510 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19511 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19513 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19514 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19515 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19516 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19517 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19518 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19519 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19522 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19523 write the following:
19526 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19529 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19530 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19531 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19534 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19535 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19536 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19537 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19538 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19540 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19541 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19542 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19546 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19550 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19553 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19554 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19557 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19560 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19561 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19564 @include gnus-faq.texi