10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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282 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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291 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
292 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
295 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
296 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
297 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
298 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
299 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
300 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
301 License'' in the Emacs manual.
303 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
304 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
305 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
307 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
308 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
309 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
310 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
318 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
320 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
321 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
323 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
324 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
325 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
326 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
327 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
328 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
329 License'' in the Emacs manual.
331 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
332 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
333 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
335 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
336 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
337 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
338 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
346 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
350 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
351 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
353 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
354 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
355 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
356 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
357 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
358 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
359 License'' in the Emacs manual.
361 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
362 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
363 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
365 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
366 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
367 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
368 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
377 @top The Gnus Newsreader
381 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
382 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
383 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
386 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.07.
397 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
398 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
400 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
401 being accused of plagiarism:
403 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
404 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
405 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
406 can even read news with it!
408 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
409 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
410 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
411 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
412 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
418 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
419 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
420 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
421 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
422 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
423 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
424 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
425 * Various:: General purpose settings.
426 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
427 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
428 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
429 * Key Index:: Key Index.
432 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
436 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
437 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
476 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
477 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
478 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
482 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
483 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
484 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
485 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
486 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
490 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
491 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
492 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
493 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
494 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
498 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
499 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
500 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
501 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
502 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
503 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
504 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
505 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
506 * Threading:: How threads are made.
507 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
508 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
509 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
510 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
511 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
512 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
513 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
514 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
515 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
516 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
517 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
518 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
519 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
520 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
521 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
522 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
523 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
524 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
525 or reselecting the current group.
526 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
527 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
528 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
529 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
531 Summary Buffer Format
533 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
534 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
535 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
536 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
540 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
541 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
543 Reply, Followup and Post
545 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
546 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
547 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
548 * Canceling and Superseding::
552 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
553 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
554 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
556 * Generic Marking Commands::
557 * Setting Process Marks::
561 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
562 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
563 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
567 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
568 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
570 Customizing Threading
572 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
573 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
574 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
575 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
579 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
580 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
581 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
582 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
583 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
584 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
588 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
589 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
590 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
594 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
595 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
596 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
597 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
598 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
599 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
600 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
601 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
602 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
603 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
605 Alternative Approaches
607 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
608 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
610 Various Summary Stuff
612 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
613 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
614 * Summary Generation Commands::
615 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
619 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
620 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
621 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
622 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
623 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
627 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
628 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
629 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
630 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
631 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
632 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
633 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
634 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
638 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
639 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
640 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
641 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
642 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
643 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
644 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
645 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
649 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
650 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
651 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
652 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
653 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
654 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
655 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
659 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
660 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
664 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
665 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
666 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
697 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
702 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
703 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
704 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
705 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
706 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
707 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
711 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
712 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
713 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
714 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
718 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
719 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
720 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
721 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
722 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
726 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
730 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
731 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
732 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
736 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
737 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
741 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
742 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
743 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
744 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
745 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
746 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
747 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
748 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
749 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
750 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
751 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
755 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
756 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
757 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
761 * Group Agent Commands::
762 * Summary Agent Commands::
763 * Server Agent Commands::
767 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
768 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
769 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
770 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
771 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
772 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
773 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
774 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
775 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
776 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
777 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
778 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
779 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
780 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
781 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
782 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
783 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
787 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
788 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
789 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
790 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
794 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
795 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
796 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
800 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
801 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
802 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
803 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
804 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
805 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
806 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
807 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
808 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
809 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
810 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
811 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
812 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
813 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
814 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
815 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
816 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
817 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
818 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
822 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
823 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
824 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
825 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
826 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
827 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
828 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
829 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
833 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
834 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
835 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
836 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
837 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
841 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
842 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
843 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
844 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
845 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
849 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
850 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
851 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
856 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
857 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
858 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
859 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
860 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
861 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
862 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
863 * Frequently Asked Questions::
867 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
868 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
869 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
870 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
871 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
872 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
873 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
874 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
875 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
879 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
880 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
881 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
882 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
883 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
887 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
888 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
889 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
890 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
894 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
895 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
896 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
897 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
898 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
899 * Group Info:: The group info format.
900 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
901 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
902 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
906 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
907 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
908 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
909 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
910 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
911 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
915 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
916 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
920 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
921 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
927 @chapter Starting Gnus
932 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
933 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
936 @findex gnus-other-frame
937 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
938 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
939 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
941 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
942 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
943 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
945 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
946 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
949 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
950 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
951 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
952 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
953 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
954 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
955 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
956 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
957 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
958 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
959 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
963 @node Finding the News
964 @section Finding the News
967 @vindex gnus-select-method
969 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
970 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
971 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
972 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
975 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
976 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
979 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
982 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
985 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
988 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
989 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
990 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
992 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
994 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
995 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
996 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
997 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
998 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
999 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
1001 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1002 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1003 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1004 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1006 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1007 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1008 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1009 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1010 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1011 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1012 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1013 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1014 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1017 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1019 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
1020 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1021 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1022 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1023 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1024 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1026 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1028 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1029 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1030 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1031 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1032 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1033 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1036 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1037 you would typically set this variable to
1040 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1044 @node The First Time
1045 @section The First Time
1046 @cindex first time usage
1048 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1049 be subscribed by default.
1051 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1052 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1053 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1054 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1057 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1058 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1059 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1061 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1062 help you with most common problems.
1064 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1065 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1069 @node The Server is Down
1070 @section The Server is Down
1071 @cindex server errors
1073 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1074 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1075 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1077 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1078 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1079 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1080 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1081 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1082 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1083 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1085 @findex gnus-no-server
1086 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1088 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1089 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1090 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1091 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1092 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1093 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1094 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1098 @section Slave Gnusae
1101 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1102 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1103 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1104 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1106 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1107 @code{.newsrc} file.
1109 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1110 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1111 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1112 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1113 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1114 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1115 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1117 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1118 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1119 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1120 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1121 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1122 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1123 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1124 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1126 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1127 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1129 If the @code{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1130 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1131 file. If you answer "yes", the unsaved changes to the master will be
1132 incorporated into the slave. If you answer "no", the slave may see some
1133 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1135 @node Fetching a Group
1136 @section Fetching a Group
1137 @cindex fetching a group
1139 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1140 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1141 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1142 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1143 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1144 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1150 @cindex subscription
1152 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1153 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1154 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1155 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1156 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1157 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1158 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1159 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1160 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1163 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1164 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1165 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1169 @node Checking New Groups
1170 @subsection Checking New Groups
1172 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1173 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1174 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1175 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1176 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1177 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1178 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1179 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1180 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1181 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1183 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1184 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1185 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1186 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1187 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1188 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1189 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1190 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1191 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1192 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1193 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1195 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1196 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1197 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1198 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1199 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1200 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1203 @node Subscription Methods
1204 @subsection Subscription Methods
1206 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1207 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1208 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1210 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1211 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1213 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1217 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1218 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1219 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1220 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1221 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1223 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1225 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1226 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1228 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1229 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1230 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1232 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1233 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1234 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1235 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1236 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1237 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1238 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1239 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1240 up. Or something like that.
1242 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1243 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1244 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1245 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1246 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1248 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1249 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1250 Kill all new groups.
1252 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1253 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1254 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1255 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1256 topic parameter that looks like
1262 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1265 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1270 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1271 A closely related variable is
1272 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1273 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1274 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1275 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1278 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1279 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1280 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1281 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1284 @node Filtering New Groups
1285 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1287 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1288 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1289 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1292 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1295 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1296 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1297 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1298 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1299 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1300 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1301 subscribing these groups.
1302 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1303 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1305 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1306 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1307 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1308 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1309 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1310 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1311 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1312 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1314 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1315 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1316 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1317 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1318 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1319 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1320 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1321 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1322 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1323 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1326 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1327 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1330 @node Changing Servers
1331 @section Changing Servers
1332 @cindex changing servers
1334 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1335 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1336 very flaky and you want to use another.
1338 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1339 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1343 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1344 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1345 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1346 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1349 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1350 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1351 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1352 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1354 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1355 @findex gnus-change-server
1356 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1357 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1358 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1359 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1360 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1362 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1363 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1364 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1365 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1366 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1368 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1369 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1370 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1371 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1372 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1373 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1375 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1376 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1377 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1378 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1380 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1381 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1382 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1383 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1384 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1385 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1386 cache for all groups).
1390 @section Startup Files
1391 @cindex startup files
1396 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1397 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1399 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1400 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1401 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1402 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1403 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1404 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1405 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1407 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1408 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1409 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1410 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1411 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1412 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1414 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1415 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1416 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1417 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1418 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1419 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1420 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1421 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1422 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1423 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1425 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1426 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1427 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1428 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1429 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1430 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1431 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1432 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1433 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1434 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1435 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1436 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1438 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1439 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1440 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1441 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1443 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1444 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1445 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1446 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1447 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1448 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1449 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1450 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1451 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1452 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1455 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1456 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1458 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1459 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1462 @vindex gnus-init-file
1463 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1464 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1465 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1466 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1467 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1468 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1469 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1470 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1471 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1477 @cindex dribble file
1480 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1481 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1482 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1483 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1484 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1487 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1488 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1491 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1492 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1493 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1495 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1496 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1497 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1498 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1499 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1500 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1502 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1503 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1504 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1507 @node The Active File
1508 @section The Active File
1510 @cindex ignored groups
1512 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1513 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1514 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1516 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1517 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1518 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1519 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1520 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1521 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1522 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1525 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1526 @c if you set it to anything else.
1528 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1530 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1531 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1532 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1534 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1535 you actually subscribe to.
1537 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1538 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1539 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1540 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1542 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1543 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1544 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1545 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1546 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1547 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1549 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1550 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1551 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1554 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1555 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1556 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1557 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1558 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1559 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1561 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1562 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1564 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1565 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1567 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1568 secondary select methods.
1571 @node Startup Variables
1572 @section Startup Variables
1576 @item gnus-load-hook
1577 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1578 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1579 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1580 times you start Gnus.
1582 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1583 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1584 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1586 @item gnus-startup-hook
1587 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1588 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1590 @item gnus-started-hook
1591 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1592 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1595 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1596 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1597 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1598 generating the group buffer.
1600 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1601 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1602 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1603 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1604 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1605 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1606 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1607 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1609 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1610 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1611 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1612 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1613 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1614 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1616 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1617 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1618 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1620 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1621 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1622 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1624 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1625 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1626 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1627 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1633 @chapter Group Buffer
1634 @cindex group buffer
1636 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1638 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1639 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1640 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1641 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1642 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1643 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1644 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1645 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1646 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1647 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1648 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1649 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1650 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1651 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1652 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1653 @c human rights at 9...
1656 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1657 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1658 long as Gnus is active.
1662 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1663 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1664 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1665 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1666 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1667 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1668 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1669 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1675 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1676 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1677 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1678 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1679 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1680 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1681 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1682 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1683 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1684 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1685 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1686 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1687 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1688 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1689 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1690 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1691 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1695 @node Group Buffer Format
1696 @section Group Buffer Format
1699 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1700 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1701 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1705 @node Group Line Specification
1706 @subsection Group Line Specification
1707 @cindex group buffer format
1709 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1710 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1712 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1715 25: news.announce.newusers
1716 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1721 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1722 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1723 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1724 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1726 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1727 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1728 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1729 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1730 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1731 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1733 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1735 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1736 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1737 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1738 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1739 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1741 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1742 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1743 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1745 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1750 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1753 Whether the group is subscribed.
1756 Level of subscribedness.
1759 Number of unread articles.
1762 Number of dormant articles.
1765 Number of ticked articles.
1768 Number of read articles.
1771 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1772 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1774 Gnus uses this estimation because the @sc{nntp} protocol provides
1775 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1776 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1777 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1778 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1779 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1780 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1781 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1784 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1787 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1796 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1797 comment element in the group parameters.
1800 Newsgroup description.
1803 @samp{m} if moderated.
1806 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1815 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1819 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1822 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1823 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1824 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1825 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1826 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1829 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1831 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1835 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1838 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1842 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1843 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1844 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1845 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1846 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1847 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1852 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1853 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1854 group, or a bogus native group.
1857 @node Group Modeline Specification
1858 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1859 @cindex group modeline
1861 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1862 The mode line can be changed by setting
1863 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1864 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1868 The native news server.
1870 The native select method.
1874 @node Group Highlighting
1875 @subsection Group Highlighting
1876 @cindex highlighting
1877 @cindex group highlighting
1879 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1880 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1881 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1882 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1883 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1885 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1889 (cond (window-system
1890 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1891 (defface my-group-face-1
1892 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1893 (defface my-group-face-2
1894 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1895 (defface my-group-face-3
1896 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1897 (defface my-group-face-4
1898 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1899 (defface my-group-face-5
1900 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1902 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1903 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1904 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1905 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1906 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1907 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1910 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1912 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1919 The number of unread articles in the group.
1923 Whether the group is a mail group.
1925 The level of the group.
1927 The score of the group.
1929 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1931 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1932 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1934 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1935 topic being inserted.
1938 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1939 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1940 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1942 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1943 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1944 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1945 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1946 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1949 @node Group Maneuvering
1950 @section Group Maneuvering
1951 @cindex group movement
1953 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1954 expected, hopefully.
1960 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1961 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1962 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1968 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1969 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1970 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1974 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1975 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1979 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1980 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1984 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1985 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1986 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1990 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1991 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1992 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1995 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2001 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2002 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2003 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2008 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2009 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2010 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2015 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2016 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2019 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2020 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2021 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2022 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2026 @node Selecting a Group
2027 @section Selecting a Group
2028 @cindex group selection
2033 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2034 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2035 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2036 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2037 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2038 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2039 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
2040 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
2041 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
2042 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
2044 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2045 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2046 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2048 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2049 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2054 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2055 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2056 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2057 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2058 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2062 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2063 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2064 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2065 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2066 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2067 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2068 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2069 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2070 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2071 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2074 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2075 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2076 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2077 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2078 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2081 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2082 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2083 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2084 doing any processing of its contents
2085 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2086 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2087 manner will have no permanent effects.
2091 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2092 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2093 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2094 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2095 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2096 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2097 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2098 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2101 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2102 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2103 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2104 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2105 Which article this is is controlled by the
2106 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2112 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2115 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2118 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2120 @item unseen-or-unread
2121 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2122 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2126 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2130 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2131 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2133 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2134 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2135 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2136 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2140 @node Subscription Commands
2141 @section Subscription Commands
2142 @cindex subscription
2150 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2151 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2152 Toggle subscription to the current group
2153 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2159 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2160 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2161 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2162 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2168 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2169 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2170 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2176 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2177 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2180 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2181 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2182 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2183 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2184 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2190 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2191 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2195 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2196 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2199 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2200 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2201 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2202 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2203 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2204 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2205 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2206 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2207 @file{.newsrc} file.
2211 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2221 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2222 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2223 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2224 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2225 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2226 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2231 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2232 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2233 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2237 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2238 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2239 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2241 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2242 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2243 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2244 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2245 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2246 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2253 @section Group Levels
2257 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2258 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2259 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2260 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2261 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2263 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2269 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2270 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2271 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2272 prompted for a level.
2275 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2276 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2277 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2278 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2279 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2280 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2281 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2282 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2283 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2284 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2285 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2286 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2287 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2288 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2289 reasons of efficiency.
2291 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2292 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2294 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2295 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2296 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2297 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2298 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2299 groups are hidden, in a way.
2301 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2302 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2303 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2304 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2305 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2306 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2308 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2309 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2310 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2311 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2312 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2313 list of killed groups.)
2315 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2316 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2317 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2319 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2320 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2321 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2322 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2323 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2324 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2325 relevant valid ranges.
2327 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2328 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2329 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2330 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2331 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2332 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2335 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2336 one with the best level.
2338 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2339 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2340 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2343 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2344 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2345 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2346 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2349 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2350 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2351 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2352 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2354 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2355 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2356 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2357 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2358 to 5. The default is 6.
2362 @section Group Score
2367 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2368 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2369 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2372 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2373 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2374 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2375 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2376 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2377 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2378 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2379 least significant part.))
2381 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2382 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2383 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2384 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2385 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2386 action after each summary exit, you can add
2387 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2388 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2389 slow things down somewhat.
2392 @node Marking Groups
2393 @section Marking Groups
2394 @cindex marking groups
2396 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2397 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2398 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2399 bidding on those groups.
2401 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2402 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2403 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2411 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2412 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2418 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2419 Remove the mark from the current group
2420 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2424 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2425 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2429 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2430 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2434 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2435 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2439 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2440 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2441 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2444 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2446 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2447 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2448 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2449 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2450 the command to be executed.
2453 @node Foreign Groups
2454 @section Foreign Groups
2455 @cindex foreign groups
2457 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2458 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2459 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2460 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2467 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2468 @cindex making groups
2469 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2470 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2471 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2475 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2476 @cindex renaming groups
2477 Rename the current group to something else
2478 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2479 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2485 @findex gnus-group-customize
2486 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2490 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2491 @cindex renaming groups
2492 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2493 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2497 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2498 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2499 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2503 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2504 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2505 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2509 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2511 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2512 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2517 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2518 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2522 @cindex (ding) archive
2523 @cindex archive group
2524 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2525 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2526 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2527 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2528 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2529 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2530 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2534 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2536 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2537 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2538 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2539 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2543 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2545 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2546 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2547 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2551 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2552 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2554 Make a group based on some file or other
2555 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2556 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2557 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2558 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2559 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2560 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2561 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2562 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2563 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2567 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2568 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2569 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2570 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2574 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2578 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2579 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2580 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2581 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2582 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2583 @xref{Web Searches}.
2585 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2586 to a particular group by using a match string like
2587 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2590 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2591 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2592 This function will delete the current group
2593 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2594 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2595 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2596 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2597 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2601 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2602 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2603 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2607 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2608 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2609 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2612 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2615 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2616 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2617 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2618 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2619 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2620 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2624 @node Group Parameters
2625 @section Group Parameters
2626 @cindex group parameters
2628 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2629 Here's an example group parameter list:
2632 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2636 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2637 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2638 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2639 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2641 Some parameters have correspondant customizable variables, each of which
2642 is an alist of regexps and values.
2644 The following group parameters can be used:
2649 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2652 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2655 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2656 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2657 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2658 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2659 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2661 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2662 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2663 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2664 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2665 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2666 list address instead.
2668 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2672 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2675 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2678 It is totally ignored
2679 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2680 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2682 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2683 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2684 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2685 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2686 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2688 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2689 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2690 sending the message.
2692 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2693 @cindex Mail List Groups
2694 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2695 entering summary buffer.
2697 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2702 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2703 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2704 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2705 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2706 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{(message)Mailing
2707 Lists} for a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2709 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2710 directly uses this group parameter.
2714 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2715 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2716 of whether it has any unread articles.
2718 @item broken-reply-to
2719 @cindex broken-reply-to
2720 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2721 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2722 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2723 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2724 broken behavior. So there!
2728 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2729 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2733 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2734 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2735 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2740 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2741 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2742 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2743 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2744 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2745 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2746 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2747 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2748 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept artciles.
2752 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2753 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2754 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2756 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2759 @cindex total-expire
2760 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2761 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2762 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2763 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2766 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2770 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2771 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2772 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2773 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2774 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2775 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2778 @cindex score file group parameter
2779 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2780 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2781 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2784 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2785 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2786 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2787 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2790 @cindex admin-address
2791 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2792 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2793 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2794 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2798 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2799 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2803 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2806 Display the last INTEGER articles in the group. This is the same as
2807 entering the group with C-u INTEGER.
2810 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2814 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2816 Here are some examples:
2820 Display only unread articles.
2823 Display everything except expirable articles.
2825 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2826 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2830 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2831 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2832 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2833 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2834 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2838 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2839 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2840 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2844 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2845 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2846 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2850 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2851 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2852 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2854 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2856 @item ignored-charsets
2857 @cindex ignored-charset
2858 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2859 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2860 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2862 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2865 @cindex posting-style
2866 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2867 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2868 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2869 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2870 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2872 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2873 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2874 like this in the group parameters:
2879 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2884 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2885 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2889 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2890 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2891 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2892 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2893 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2897 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2898 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2899 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2900 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2902 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2903 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2904 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2905 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2908 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2909 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2913 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2916 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2917 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2918 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2919 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2920 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2921 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2922 @code{eval}ed there.
2924 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2925 A use for this feature, is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2926 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2927 @samp{nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps} has the tag
2928 @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this tag can be
2929 removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for the group by
2930 putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")} into the group
2931 parameters for the group.
2934 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2935 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2936 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2937 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2938 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2942 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2943 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2944 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2945 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2946 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2948 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
2949 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
2953 (setq gnus-parameters
2955 (gnus-show-threads nil)
2956 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
2957 (gnus-summary-line-format
2958 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
2962 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
2966 (gnus-use-scoring t))
2970 (broken-reply-to . t))))
2973 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
2974 the @code{to-group} example shows.
2977 @node Listing Groups
2978 @section Listing Groups
2979 @cindex group listing
2981 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2989 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2990 List all groups that have unread articles
2991 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2992 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2993 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2994 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3001 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3002 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3003 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3004 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3005 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3006 unsubscribed groups).
3010 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3011 List all unread groups on a specific level
3012 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3013 with no unread articles.
3017 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3018 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3019 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3020 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3025 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3026 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3030 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3031 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3032 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3036 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3037 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3041 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3042 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3043 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3044 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3045 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3046 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3047 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3048 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3052 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3053 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3054 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3059 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3060 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3064 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3065 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3069 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3070 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3074 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3075 List groups limited within the current selection
3076 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3080 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3081 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3085 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3086 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3090 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3091 @cindex visible group parameter
3092 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3093 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3094 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3095 get the same effect.
3097 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3098 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3099 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3100 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3101 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3104 @node Sorting Groups
3105 @section Sorting Groups
3106 @cindex sorting groups
3108 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3109 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3110 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3111 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3112 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3113 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3118 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3119 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3120 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3122 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3123 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3124 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3126 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3127 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3128 Sort by group level.
3130 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3131 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3132 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3134 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3135 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3136 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3137 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3139 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3140 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3141 Sort by number of unread articles.
3143 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3144 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3145 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3147 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3148 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3149 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3154 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3155 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3159 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3160 some sorting criteria:
3164 @kindex G S a (Group)
3165 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3166 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3167 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3170 @kindex G S u (Group)
3171 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3172 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3173 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3176 @kindex G S l (Group)
3177 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3178 Sort the group buffer by group level
3179 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3182 @kindex G S v (Group)
3183 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3184 Sort the group buffer by group score
3185 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3188 @kindex G S r (Group)
3189 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3190 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3191 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3194 @kindex G S m (Group)
3195 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3196 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name
3197 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3201 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3202 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3204 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3205 commands will sort in reverse order.
3207 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3211 @kindex G P a (Group)
3212 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3213 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3214 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3217 @kindex G P u (Group)
3218 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3219 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3220 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3223 @kindex G P l (Group)
3224 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3225 Sort the groups by group level
3226 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3229 @kindex G P v (Group)
3230 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3231 Sort the groups by group score
3232 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3235 @kindex G P r (Group)
3236 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3237 Sort the groups by group rank
3238 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3241 @kindex G P m (Group)
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3243 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name
3244 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3247 @kindex G P s (Group)
3248 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3249 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3253 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3257 @node Group Maintenance
3258 @section Group Maintenance
3259 @cindex bogus groups
3264 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3265 Find bogus groups and delete them
3266 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3270 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3271 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3272 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3273 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3274 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3278 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3279 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3280 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3281 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3282 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3283 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3286 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3287 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3288 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3289 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3294 @node Browse Foreign Server
3295 @section Browse Foreign Server
3296 @cindex foreign servers
3297 @cindex browsing servers
3302 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3303 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3304 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3305 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3308 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3309 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3310 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3311 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3313 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3318 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3319 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3323 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3324 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3327 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3328 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3329 Enter the current group and display the first article
3330 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3333 @kindex RET (Browse)
3334 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3335 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3339 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3340 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3341 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3347 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3348 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3352 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3353 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3357 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3358 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3359 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3364 @section Exiting Gnus
3365 @cindex exiting Gnus
3367 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3372 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3373 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3374 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3375 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3379 @findex gnus-group-exit
3380 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3381 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3385 @findex gnus-group-quit
3386 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3387 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3390 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3391 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3392 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3393 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3394 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3399 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3400 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3401 trying to customize meta-variables.
3406 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3407 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3408 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3414 @section Group Topics
3417 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3418 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3419 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3420 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3421 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3422 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3426 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3427 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3438 2: alt.religion.emacs
3441 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3443 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3444 13: comp.sources.unix
3447 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3449 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3450 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3451 is a toggling command.)
3453 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3454 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and
3455 now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3456 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3459 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3460 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3461 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3464 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3468 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3469 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3470 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3471 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3472 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3476 @node Topic Commands
3477 @subsection Topic Commands
3478 @cindex topic commands
3480 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3481 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3482 definitions slightly.
3484 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3485 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3486 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3487 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3488 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3489 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3491 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3498 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3499 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3500 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3504 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3506 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3507 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3508 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3509 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3512 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3513 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3514 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3515 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3519 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3520 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3521 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3522 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3528 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3529 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3530 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3534 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3535 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3536 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3539 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3540 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3541 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3542 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3543 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3545 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3546 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3550 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3551 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3558 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3560 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3561 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3562 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3563 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3564 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3565 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3569 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3575 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3576 Move the current group to some other topic
3577 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3578 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3582 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3583 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3587 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3588 Copy the current group to some other topic
3589 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3590 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3594 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3595 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3596 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3600 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3601 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3602 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3606 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3607 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3608 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3609 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3610 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3611 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3612 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3615 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3616 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3620 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3621 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3622 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3626 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3627 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3628 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3632 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3633 Toggle hiding empty topics
3634 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3638 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3639 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3640 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3643 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3644 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3645 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3646 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3649 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3650 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3651 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3652 expiry process (if any)
3653 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3657 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3658 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3661 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3662 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3663 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3667 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3668 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3669 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3672 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3673 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3674 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3677 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3678 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3679 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3683 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3684 @cindex group parameters
3685 @cindex topic parameters
3687 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3688 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3693 @node Topic Variables
3694 @subsection Topic Variables
3695 @cindex topic variables
3697 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3698 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3700 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3701 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3702 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3715 Number of groups in the topic.
3717 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3719 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3722 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3723 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3724 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3727 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3728 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3730 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3731 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3732 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3736 @subsection Topic Sorting
3737 @cindex topic sorting
3739 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3745 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3746 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3747 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3748 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3751 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3752 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3753 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3754 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3757 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3758 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3759 Sort the current topic by group level
3760 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3763 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3764 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3765 Sort the current topic by group score
3766 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3769 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3770 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3771 Sort the current topic by group rank
3772 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3775 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3776 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3777 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3778 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3781 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3782 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3783 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3788 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3789 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3790 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3791 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3795 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3796 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3800 @node Topic Topology
3801 @subsection Topic Topology
3802 @cindex topic topology
3805 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3811 2: alt.religion.emacs
3814 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3816 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3817 13: comp.sources.unix
3820 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3821 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3822 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3827 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3828 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3832 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3833 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3834 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3835 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3836 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3837 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3839 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3840 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3841 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3844 @node Topic Parameters
3845 @subsection Topic Parameters
3846 @cindex topic parameters
3848 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3849 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3850 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3852 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3857 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3858 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3859 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3862 @item subscribe-level
3863 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3864 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3865 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3869 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3870 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3871 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3872 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3878 2: alt.religion.emacs
3882 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3884 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3885 13: comp.sources.unix
3889 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3890 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3891 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3892 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3893 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3894 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3896 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3897 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3898 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3899 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3900 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3902 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3903 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3904 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3905 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3906 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3907 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3908 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3909 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3912 @node Misc Group Stuff
3913 @section Misc Group Stuff
3916 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3917 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3918 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3919 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3920 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3927 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3928 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3929 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3933 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3934 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3935 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
3936 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
3937 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
3938 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
3939 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3943 @findex gnus-group-mail
3944 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
3945 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
3946 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
3947 @xref{Composing Messages}.
3951 @findex gnus-group-news
3952 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
3953 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
3954 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
3956 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
3957 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
3958 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
3959 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
3960 for this to work though.
3964 Variables for the group buffer:
3968 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3969 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3970 is called after the group buffer has been
3973 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3974 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3975 is called after the group buffer is
3976 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3979 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3980 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3981 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3982 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3984 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3985 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3986 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3987 whether they are empty or not.
3989 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3990 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3991 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3992 non-ASCII group names.
3996 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3997 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4000 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4001 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4002 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4003 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4004 is used to show non-ASCII group names. @code{((".*" utf-8))} is the
4005 default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the default is nil.
4009 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4010 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4015 @node Scanning New Messages
4016 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4017 @cindex new messages
4018 @cindex scanning new news
4024 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4025 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4026 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4027 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4028 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4029 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4034 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4035 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4036 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4037 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4038 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4039 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4040 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4042 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4043 @cindex activating groups
4045 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4046 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4051 @findex gnus-group-restart
4052 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4053 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4054 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4058 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4059 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4061 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4062 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4066 @node Group Information
4067 @subsection Group Information
4068 @cindex group information
4069 @cindex information on groups
4076 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4077 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4080 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
4081 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
4082 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
4083 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
4084 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4085 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
4086 for fetching the file.
4088 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4089 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4093 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4094 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4096 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4097 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4100 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4101 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4102 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4106 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4107 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4108 @cindex control message
4109 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4110 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4111 group if given a prefix argument.
4113 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-nil, Gnus
4114 will open the control messages in a browser using @code{browse-url}.
4115 Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp} and displayed in an
4118 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4119 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode}
4120 (@pxref{(emacs)Compressed Files}).
4124 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4126 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4127 @cindex describing groups
4128 @cindex group description
4129 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4130 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4131 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4135 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4136 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4137 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4144 @findex gnus-version
4145 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4149 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4150 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4153 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4156 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4157 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4161 @node Group Timestamp
4162 @subsection Group Timestamp
4164 @cindex group timestamps
4166 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4167 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4168 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4171 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4174 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4176 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4177 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4180 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4181 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4184 This will result in lines looking like:
4187 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4188 0: custom 19961002T012713
4191 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4192 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4196 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4197 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4200 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4201 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4205 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4206 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4207 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4208 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4210 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4216 @subsection File Commands
4217 @cindex file commands
4223 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4224 @vindex gnus-init-file
4225 @cindex reading init file
4226 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4227 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4231 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4232 @cindex saving .newsrc
4233 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4234 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4235 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4238 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4239 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4240 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4245 @node Sieve Commands
4246 @subsection Sieve Commands
4247 @cindex group sieve commands
4249 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4250 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4251 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4252 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4253 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4255 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4256 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4257 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4258 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4259 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4260 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4261 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4262 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4263 regenerate the Sieve script.
4265 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4266 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4267 is generated. If it is non-nil (the default) articles is placed in
4268 all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article is only
4269 placed in the group with the first matching rule. For example, the
4270 group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4271 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4272 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is nil. (When
4273 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-nil, it looks the same except that
4274 the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4277 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4278 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4283 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4289 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4290 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4291 @cindex generating sieve script
4292 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4293 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4297 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4298 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4299 @cindex updating sieve script
4300 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4301 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4302 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4307 @node Summary Buffer
4308 @chapter Summary Buffer
4309 @cindex summary buffer
4311 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4312 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4314 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4315 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4317 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4320 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4321 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4322 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4323 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4324 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4325 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4326 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4327 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4328 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4329 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4330 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4331 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4332 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4333 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4334 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4335 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4336 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4337 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4338 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4339 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4340 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4341 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4342 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4343 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4344 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4345 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4346 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4347 or reselecting the current group.
4348 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4349 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4350 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4351 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4355 @node Summary Buffer Format
4356 @section Summary Buffer Format
4357 @cindex summary buffer format
4361 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4362 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4363 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4369 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4370 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4371 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4372 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4375 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4376 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4377 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4378 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4379 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4380 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4381 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4382 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4383 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4384 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4385 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4388 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4389 'mail-extract-address-components)
4392 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4393 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4394 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4395 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4398 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4399 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4401 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4402 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4403 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4404 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4405 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4407 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4408 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4409 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4410 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4411 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4412 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4414 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4416 The following format specification characters and extended format
4417 specification(s) are understood:
4423 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4424 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4426 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4427 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4428 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4430 Full @code{From} header.
4432 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4434 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4437 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4438 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4439 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4440 may be more thorough.
4442 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4445 Number of lines in the article.
4447 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4448 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4450 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4451 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4453 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4455 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4458 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4459 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4461 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4462 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4464 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4465 for adopted articles.
4467 One space for each thread level.
4469 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4471 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4474 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4475 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4476 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4479 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4481 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4482 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4483 default level. If the difference between
4484 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4485 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4493 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4495 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4501 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4502 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4504 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4505 article has any children.
4511 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4512 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4514 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4515 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4516 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4517 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4518 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4519 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4522 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4523 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4524 There can only be one such area.
4526 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4527 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4528 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4529 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4530 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4531 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4533 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4534 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4536 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4539 @node To From Newsgroups
4540 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4544 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4545 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4546 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4547 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4548 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4552 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4553 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4554 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4558 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4559 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4562 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4563 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4566 @findex gnus-extra-header
4567 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4568 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4569 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4572 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4576 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4577 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4578 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4579 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4580 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4581 headers are used instead.
4585 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4586 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4587 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4588 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4589 this variable, by entering the server buffer using `^', and then `g' on
4590 the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause regeneration.
4592 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4593 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4594 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4595 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4597 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4601 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4603 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4604 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4605 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4606 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4610 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4613 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4614 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4617 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4618 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4619 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4625 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4626 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4629 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4630 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4632 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4633 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4634 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4635 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4637 Here are the elements you can play with:
4643 Unprefixed group name.
4645 Current article number.
4647 Current article score.
4651 Number of unread articles in this group.
4653 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4656 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4657 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4658 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4659 and no unselected ones.
4661 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4662 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4664 Subject of the current article.
4666 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4668 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4670 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4672 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4674 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4676 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4680 @node Summary Highlighting
4681 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4685 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4686 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4687 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4688 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4689 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4691 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4692 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4693 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4694 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4696 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4697 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4698 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4699 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4701 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4702 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4703 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4704 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4705 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4706 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4709 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4710 ((> score default) . bold))
4712 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4713 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4717 @node Summary Maneuvering
4718 @section Summary Maneuvering
4719 @cindex summary movement
4721 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4722 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4724 None of these commands select articles.
4729 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4730 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4731 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4732 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4733 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4737 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4738 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4739 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4740 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4741 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4744 @kindex G g (Summary)
4745 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4746 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4747 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4750 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4751 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4752 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4753 to the group buffer.
4755 Variables related to summary movement:
4759 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4760 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4761 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4762 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4763 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4764 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4765 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4766 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4767 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4768 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4769 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4770 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4771 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4772 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4774 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4775 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4776 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4777 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4778 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4779 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4780 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4782 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4784 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4785 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4786 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4787 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4788 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4790 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4791 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4792 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4793 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4794 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4795 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4796 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4797 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4800 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4801 the given number of lines from the top.
4806 @node Choosing Articles
4807 @section Choosing Articles
4808 @cindex selecting articles
4811 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4812 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4816 @node Choosing Commands
4817 @subsection Choosing Commands
4819 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4820 and they all select and display an article.
4822 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4823 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4827 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4828 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4829 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4830 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4835 @kindex G n (Summary)
4836 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4837 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4838 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4843 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4844 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4845 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4850 @kindex G N (Summary)
4851 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4852 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4857 @kindex G P (Summary)
4858 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4859 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4862 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4863 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4864 Go to the next article with the same subject
4865 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4868 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4869 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4870 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4871 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4875 @kindex G f (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4878 Go to the first unread article
4879 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4883 @kindex G b (Summary)
4885 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4886 Go to the unread article with the highest score
4887 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
4888 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
4893 @kindex G l (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4895 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4898 @kindex G o (Summary)
4899 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4901 @cindex article history
4902 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4903 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4904 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4905 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4906 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4907 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4912 @kindex G j (Summary)
4913 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4914 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4915 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4920 @node Choosing Variables
4921 @subsection Choosing Variables
4923 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4926 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4927 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4928 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4929 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4930 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4931 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4933 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4934 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4935 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4936 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4938 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4939 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4940 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4941 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4942 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4943 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4944 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4945 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4946 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4947 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4948 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4949 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4950 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4951 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4956 @node Paging the Article
4957 @section Scrolling the Article
4958 @cindex article scrolling
4963 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4965 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4966 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4967 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4970 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4972 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4975 @kindex RET (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4977 Scroll the current article one line forward
4978 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4981 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4983 Scroll the current article one line backward
4984 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4988 @kindex A g (Summary)
4990 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4991 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4992 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4993 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4994 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4995 the way it came from the server.
4997 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4998 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4999 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5002 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5007 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5012 @kindex A < (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5014 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5015 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5020 @kindex A > (Summary)
5021 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5022 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5026 @kindex A s (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5029 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5030 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5034 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5035 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5040 @node Reply Followup and Post
5041 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5044 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5045 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5046 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5047 * Canceling and Superseding::
5051 @node Summary Mail Commands
5052 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5054 @cindex composing mail
5056 Commands for composing a mail message:
5062 @kindex S r (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5065 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5066 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5067 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5068 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5073 @kindex S R (Summary)
5074 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5075 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5076 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5077 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5078 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5081 @kindex S w (Summary)
5082 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5083 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5084 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5085 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5086 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5089 @kindex S W (Summary)
5090 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5091 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5092 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5093 the process/prefix convention.
5096 @kindex S v (Summary)
5097 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5098 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5099 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5100 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5101 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5102 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5105 @kindex S V (Summary)
5106 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5107 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5108 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5109 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5112 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5114 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5115 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5118 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5119 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5120 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5121 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5122 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5126 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5127 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5128 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5129 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5130 Forward the current article to some other person
5131 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5132 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5133 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5134 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5135 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5136 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5137 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5138 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5139 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime}
5145 @kindex S m (Summary)
5146 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5147 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5148 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5149 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5150 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5155 @kindex S i (Summary)
5156 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5157 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5158 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5159 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5161 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5162 This is useful for "posting" messages to mail groups without actually
5163 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5164 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5165 for this to work though.
5168 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5169 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5170 @cindex bouncing mail
5171 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5172 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5173 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5174 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5175 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5176 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5177 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5178 very well fail, though.
5181 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5182 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5183 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5184 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5185 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5186 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5187 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5188 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5189 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5190 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5192 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5193 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5194 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5195 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5196 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5198 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5199 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5202 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5204 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5205 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5206 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5209 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5211 @cindex crossposting
5212 @cindex excessive crossposting
5213 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5214 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5216 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5217 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5218 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5219 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5220 command understands the process/prefix convention
5221 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5225 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5226 Manual}, for more information.
5229 @node Summary Post Commands
5230 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5232 @cindex composing news
5234 Commands for posting a news article:
5240 @kindex S p (Summary)
5241 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5242 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5243 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5244 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5245 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5250 @kindex S f (Summary)
5251 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5252 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5253 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5257 @kindex S F (Summary)
5259 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5260 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5261 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5262 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5263 process/prefix convention.
5266 @kindex S n (Summary)
5267 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5268 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5269 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5272 @kindex S N (Summary)
5273 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5274 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5275 message through mail and include the original message
5276 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5277 the process/prefix convention.
5280 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5282 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5283 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5284 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5285 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5286 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5287 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5288 as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5289 forward as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5290 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5291 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5292 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @sc{mime} section.
5295 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5296 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5298 @cindex making digests
5299 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5300 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5301 process/prefix convention.
5304 @kindex S u (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5306 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5307 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5308 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5311 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5312 Manual}, for more information.
5315 @node Summary Message Commands
5316 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5320 @kindex S y (Summary)
5321 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5322 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5323 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5324 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5325 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5330 @node Canceling and Superseding
5331 @subsection Canceling Articles
5332 @cindex canceling articles
5333 @cindex superseding articles
5335 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5336 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5338 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5340 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5342 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5343 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5344 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5345 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5346 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5347 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5349 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5350 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5353 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5354 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5355 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5357 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5358 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5359 your original article.
5361 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5363 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5364 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5365 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5368 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5369 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5370 have posted almost the same article twice.
5372 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5373 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5374 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5375 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5376 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5377 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5378 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5379 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5380 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5381 canceled/superseded.
5383 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5385 @node Delayed Articles
5386 @section Delayed Articles
5387 @cindex delayed sending
5388 @cindex send delayed
5390 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5391 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5392 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5393 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5396 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5399 @findex gnus-delay-article
5400 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5401 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5402 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5403 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5407 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5408 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5409 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5410 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5413 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5414 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5415 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5418 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5419 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5420 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5421 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5422 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5423 that means a time tomorrow.
5426 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5427 couple of variables:
5430 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5431 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5432 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5433 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5435 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5436 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5437 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5438 formats described above.
5440 @item gnus-delay-group
5441 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5442 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5443 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5444 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5446 @item gnus-delay-header
5447 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5448 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5449 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5450 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5453 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5454 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5455 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5456 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5457 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5459 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5460 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5461 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5462 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5463 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5464 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5467 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5468 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5469 By default, this function installs the @kbd{C-c C-j} key binding in
5470 Message mode and @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5471 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts two optional arguments,
5472 @code{no-keymap} and @code{no-check}. If @code{no-keymap} is non-nil,
5473 the @kbd{C-c C-j} binding is not intalled. If @code{no-check} is
5474 non-nil, @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed.
5476 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to change the
5477 keymap but not to change @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. Presumably, you
5478 want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles. Just don't
5479 forget to set that up :-)
5483 @node Marking Articles
5484 @section Marking Articles
5485 @cindex article marking
5486 @cindex article ticking
5489 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5491 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5492 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5493 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5495 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5498 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5499 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5500 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5504 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5508 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5509 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5510 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5514 @node Unread Articles
5515 @subsection Unread Articles
5517 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5522 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5523 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5525 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5526 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5527 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5528 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5529 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5530 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5531 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5534 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5535 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5537 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5538 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5539 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5540 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5544 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5545 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5547 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5552 @subsection Read Articles
5553 @cindex expirable mark
5555 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5560 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5561 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5562 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5565 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5566 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5569 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5570 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5571 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5574 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5575 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5578 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5579 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5582 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5583 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5586 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5587 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5590 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5591 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5594 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5595 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5598 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5599 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5603 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5604 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5605 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5609 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5610 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5612 One more special mark, though:
5616 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5617 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5619 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5620 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5621 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5622 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5628 @subsection Other Marks
5629 @cindex process mark
5632 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5638 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5639 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5640 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5641 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5642 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5645 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5646 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5647 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5648 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5651 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5652 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5653 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5656 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5657 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5658 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5661 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5662 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5663 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5664 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5667 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5668 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5669 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5670 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5671 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5672 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5675 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5676 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5677 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5678 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5681 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5682 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5683 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5684 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5685 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5688 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5689 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5690 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5691 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5692 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5693 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5697 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5698 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5699 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5701 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5702 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5703 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5707 @subsection Setting Marks
5708 @cindex setting marks
5710 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5715 @kindex M c (Summary)
5716 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5717 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5718 @cindex mark as unread
5719 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5720 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5726 @kindex M t (Summary)
5727 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5728 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5729 @xref{Article Caching}.
5734 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5735 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5736 Mark the current article as dormant
5737 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5741 @kindex M d (Summary)
5743 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5744 Mark the current article as read
5745 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5749 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5750 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5751 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5756 @kindex M k (Summary)
5757 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5758 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5759 and then select the next unread article
5760 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5764 @kindex M K (Summary)
5765 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5766 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5767 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5768 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5771 @kindex M C (Summary)
5772 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5773 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5774 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5777 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5779 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5780 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5783 @kindex M H (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5785 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5786 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5789 @kindex M h (Summary)
5790 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5791 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5792 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5795 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5796 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5797 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5798 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5801 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5802 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5803 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5804 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5808 @kindex M e (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5811 Mark the current article as expirable
5812 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5815 @kindex M b (Summary)
5816 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5817 Set a bookmark in the current article
5818 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5821 @kindex M B (Summary)
5822 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5823 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5824 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5827 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5829 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5830 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5833 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5835 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5836 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5839 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5841 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5842 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5843 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5846 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5847 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5848 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5849 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5850 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5851 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5852 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5853 The default is @code{t}.
5856 @node Generic Marking Commands
5857 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5859 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5860 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5861 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5862 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5863 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5866 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5867 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5870 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5871 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5872 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5873 to list in this manual.
5875 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5876 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5877 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5878 article, you could say something like:
5881 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5882 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5883 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5889 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5890 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5894 @node Setting Process Marks
5895 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5896 @cindex setting process marks
5903 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5904 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5905 Mark the current article with the process mark
5906 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5907 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5911 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5912 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5913 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5914 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5917 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5918 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5919 Remove the process mark from all articles
5920 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5923 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5925 Invert the list of process marked articles
5926 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5929 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5930 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5931 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5932 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5935 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5936 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5937 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5938 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5941 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5943 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5947 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5948 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5951 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5952 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5953 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5954 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5957 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5959 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5960 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5963 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5964 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5965 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5966 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5969 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5970 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5971 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5974 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5976 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5977 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5980 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5982 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5985 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5986 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5987 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5988 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5991 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5993 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5994 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5997 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5998 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5999 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6000 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6003 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6004 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6005 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6006 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6010 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6011 set process marks based on article body contents.
6018 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6019 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6020 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6023 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6024 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6025 additional articles.
6031 @kindex / / (Summary)
6032 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6033 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6034 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6038 @kindex / a (Summary)
6039 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6040 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6041 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6045 @kindex / x (Summary)
6046 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6047 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6048 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6049 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6054 @kindex / u (Summary)
6056 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6057 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6058 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6059 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6060 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6063 @kindex / m (Summary)
6064 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6065 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6066 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6069 @kindex / t (Summary)
6070 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6071 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6072 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6073 articles younger than that number of days.
6076 @kindex / n (Summary)
6077 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6078 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6079 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6080 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6083 @kindex / w (Summary)
6084 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6085 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6086 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6090 @kindex / . (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6092 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6093 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6096 @kindex / v (Summary)
6097 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6098 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6099 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6102 @kindex / p (Summary)
6103 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6104 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6105 group parameter predicate
6106 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6107 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6111 @kindex M S (Summary)
6112 @kindex / E (Summary)
6113 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6114 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6115 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6118 @kindex / D (Summary)
6119 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6120 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6121 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6124 @kindex / * (Summary)
6125 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6126 Include all cached articles in the limit
6127 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6130 @kindex / d (Summary)
6131 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6132 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6133 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6136 @kindex / M (Summary)
6137 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6138 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6141 @kindex / T (Summary)
6142 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6143 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6146 @kindex / c (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6148 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
6149 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6152 @kindex / C (Summary)
6153 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6154 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6155 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6156 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6159 @kindex / N (Summary)
6160 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6161 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6162 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6165 @kindex / o (Summary)
6166 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6167 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6168 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6176 @cindex article threading
6178 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6179 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6180 hierarchical fashion.
6182 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6183 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6184 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6185 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6186 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6187 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6188 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6190 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6194 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6197 A tree-like article structure.
6200 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6203 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6204 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6205 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6206 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6207 called loose threads.
6209 @item thread gathering
6210 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6212 @item sparse threads
6213 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6214 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6220 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6221 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6225 @node Customizing Threading
6226 @subsection Customizing Threading
6227 @cindex customizing threading
6230 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6231 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6232 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6233 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
6238 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6241 @cindex loose threads
6244 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6245 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6246 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6247 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6248 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6249 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6251 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6252 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6253 There are four possible values:
6257 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6258 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6259 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6260 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6261 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6266 @cindex adopting articles
6271 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6272 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6273 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6274 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6277 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6278 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6279 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6280 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6281 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6282 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6283 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6286 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6287 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6288 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6292 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6293 display them after one another.
6296 Don't gather loose threads.
6299 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6300 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6301 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6302 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6303 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6304 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6305 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6306 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6307 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6308 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6309 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6311 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6312 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6313 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6316 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6317 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6318 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6319 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6320 simplification is used.
6322 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6323 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6324 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6325 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6327 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6329 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6335 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6336 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6337 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6338 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6343 (mapconcat 'identity
6344 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6346 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6349 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6352 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6353 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6354 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6355 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6356 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6357 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6359 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6362 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6363 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6364 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6366 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6367 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6370 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6371 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6372 Remove excessive whitespace.
6374 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6375 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6376 Remove all whitespace.
6379 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6382 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6383 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6384 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6385 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6386 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6387 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6388 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6389 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6391 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6392 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6393 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6394 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6395 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6396 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6397 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6398 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6399 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6403 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6404 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6405 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6406 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6408 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6409 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6410 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6413 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6417 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6418 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6424 @node Filling In Threads
6425 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6428 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6429 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6430 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6431 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6432 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6433 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6434 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6435 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6436 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6437 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6438 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6439 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6442 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6443 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6444 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6446 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6447 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6448 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6449 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6450 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6451 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6452 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6453 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6454 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6455 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6456 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6457 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6458 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6459 @code{nil} by default.
6461 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6462 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6463 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6464 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6465 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6466 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6467 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6469 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6470 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6471 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6476 @node More Threading
6477 @subsubsection More Threading
6480 @item gnus-show-threads
6481 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6482 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6483 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6484 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6485 slower and more awkward.
6487 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6488 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6489 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6492 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6493 Avaliable predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6494 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}).
6499 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6500 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6501 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6504 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6505 unread, but you get my drift.)
6508 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6509 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6510 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6511 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6512 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6513 threads are expunged.
6515 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6516 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6517 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6520 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6521 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6522 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6523 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6524 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6525 result in a new thread.
6527 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6528 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6529 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6532 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6533 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6534 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6535 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6536 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6537 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6538 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6539 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6540 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6541 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6542 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6547 @node Low-Level Threading
6548 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6552 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6553 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6554 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6556 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6557 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6558 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6559 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6560 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6561 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6562 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6563 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6564 meaningful. Here's one example:
6567 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6569 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6570 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6572 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6574 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6581 @node Thread Commands
6582 @subsection Thread Commands
6583 @cindex thread commands
6589 @kindex T k (Summary)
6590 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6592 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6593 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6594 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6599 @kindex T l (Summary)
6600 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6601 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6602 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6603 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6606 @kindex T i (Summary)
6607 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6608 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6609 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6612 @kindex T # (Summary)
6613 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6614 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6615 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6618 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6619 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6620 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6621 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6624 @kindex T T (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6626 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6629 @kindex T s (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6631 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
6632 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6635 @kindex T h (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6637 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6640 @kindex T S (Summary)
6641 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6642 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6645 @kindex T H (Summary)
6646 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6647 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6650 @kindex T t (Summary)
6651 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6652 Re-thread the current article's thread
6653 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6654 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6657 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6658 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6659 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6660 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6664 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6665 understand the numeric prefix.
6670 @kindex T n (Summary)
6672 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6674 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6675 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6676 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6679 @kindex T p (Summary)
6681 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6683 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6684 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6685 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6688 @kindex T d (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6690 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6693 @kindex T u (Summary)
6694 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6695 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6698 @kindex T o (Summary)
6699 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6700 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6703 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6704 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6705 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6706 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6707 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6708 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6709 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6710 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6711 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6712 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6713 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6714 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6718 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6719 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6721 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6722 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6723 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6724 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6725 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6726 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6727 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6728 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6729 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6730 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6731 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6732 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6733 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6735 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6736 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6737 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6738 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6739 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6740 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6741 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6742 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6744 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6745 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6746 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6748 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6749 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6750 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6751 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6752 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6753 ascending article order.
6755 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6756 by number, you could do something like:
6759 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6760 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6761 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6762 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6765 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6766 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6767 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6768 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6769 which the articles arrived.
6771 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6775 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6777 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6778 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6781 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6782 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6783 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6784 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6787 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6788 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6789 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6790 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6791 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6792 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6793 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6794 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6795 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6796 variable. It is very similar to the
6797 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6798 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6799 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6800 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6801 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6802 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6803 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6805 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6809 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6810 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6811 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6816 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6817 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6818 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6819 @cindex article pre-fetch
6822 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6823 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6824 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6825 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6826 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6828 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6829 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
6831 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6832 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6833 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6834 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6835 connection is blocked.
6837 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6838 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6839 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6840 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6842 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6843 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6844 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6845 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6848 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6851 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6852 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6853 happen automatically.
6855 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6856 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6857 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6858 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
6859 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
6860 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6861 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6863 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6864 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6865 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6866 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6867 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6868 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6869 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6870 data structure as the only parameter.
6872 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6875 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6876 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6877 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6878 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6881 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6884 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6885 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6886 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6888 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6889 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6890 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6891 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6895 Remove articles when they are read.
6898 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6901 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6903 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6904 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6905 @c from the next group.
6908 @node Article Caching
6909 @section Article Caching
6910 @cindex article caching
6913 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6914 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6915 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6916 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6917 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6919 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6921 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6922 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6923 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6924 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6925 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6926 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6927 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6928 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6930 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6931 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6932 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6933 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6934 as dormant, and don't worry.
6936 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6938 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6939 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6940 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6941 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6942 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6943 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6944 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6945 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6946 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6947 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6949 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6950 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6951 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6952 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6953 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6954 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6955 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6956 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6957 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6958 not then be downloaded by this command.
6960 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6961 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6962 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6963 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6964 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6965 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6967 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6968 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6969 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6970 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6971 variables, the group is not cached.
6973 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6974 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6975 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6976 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6977 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6978 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6979 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6980 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6981 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6984 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
6985 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
6986 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
6987 where, isn't that cool?
6989 @node Persistent Articles
6990 @section Persistent Articles
6991 @cindex persistent articles
6993 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6994 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6995 useful in my opinion.
6997 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6998 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6999 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7000 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7001 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7002 the expiry going on at the news server.
7004 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7005 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7006 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7012 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7013 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7016 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7017 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7018 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7019 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7023 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7025 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7026 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7027 interested in persistent articles:
7030 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7034 @node Article Backlog
7035 @section Article Backlog
7037 @cindex article backlog
7039 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7040 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7041 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7042 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7043 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7044 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7045 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7046 increase memory usage some.
7048 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7049 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7050 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7051 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7052 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7053 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7054 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7056 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
7059 @node Saving Articles
7060 @section Saving Articles
7061 @cindex saving articles
7063 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7064 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7065 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7066 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7067 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7069 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7070 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7071 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7073 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7074 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7075 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7077 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7078 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7079 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7080 deleted before saving.
7086 @kindex O o (Summary)
7088 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7089 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7090 Save the current article using the default article saver
7091 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7094 @kindex O m (Summary)
7095 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7096 Save the current article in mail format
7097 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7100 @kindex O r (Summary)
7101 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7102 Save the current article in rmail format
7103 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7106 @kindex O f (Summary)
7107 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7108 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7109 Save the current article in plain file format
7110 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7113 @kindex O F (Summary)
7114 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7115 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7116 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7119 @kindex O b (Summary)
7120 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7121 Save the current article body in plain file format
7122 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7125 @kindex O h (Summary)
7126 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7127 Save the current article in mh folder format
7128 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7131 @kindex O v (Summary)
7132 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7133 Save the current article in a VM folder
7134 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7138 @kindex O p (Summary)
7140 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7141 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7142 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7145 @kindex O P (Summary)
7146 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7147 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7148 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7149 external program Muttprint (see
7150 @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/}). The program name and
7151 options to use is controlled by the variable
7152 @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}. (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7156 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7157 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7158 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7159 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7160 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7161 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7162 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7163 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7164 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7165 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7166 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7167 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7171 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7172 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7173 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7174 functions below, or you can create your own.
7178 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7179 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7180 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7181 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7182 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
7183 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7184 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7186 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7187 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7188 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7189 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7190 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7191 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7193 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7194 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7195 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7196 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7197 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7198 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7199 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7201 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7202 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7203 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7204 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7205 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7206 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7208 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7209 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7210 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7211 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7212 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7214 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7215 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7216 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7217 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7218 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7221 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7222 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7223 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7224 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7225 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7227 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7228 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7229 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7230 reader to use this setting.
7233 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7234 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7235 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7236 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7239 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7240 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7241 available functions that generate names:
7245 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7246 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7247 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7249 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7250 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7251 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7253 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7254 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7255 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7257 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7258 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7259 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7261 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7262 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7263 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7266 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7267 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7268 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7269 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7270 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7274 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7275 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7276 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7277 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7280 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7281 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7282 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7283 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7284 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7285 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7286 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7287 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7288 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7290 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7291 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7292 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7293 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7295 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7296 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7297 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7300 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7301 lots of mail groups called things like
7302 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7303 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7304 following will do just that:
7307 (defun my-save-name (group)
7308 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7309 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7311 (setq gnus-split-methods
7312 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7317 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7318 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7319 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7320 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7321 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7322 all the files in the top level directory
7323 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7324 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7325 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7326 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7328 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7329 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7330 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7331 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7332 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7335 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7339 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
7340 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7341 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
7344 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7345 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7346 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7347 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7350 @node Decoding Articles
7351 @section Decoding Articles
7352 @cindex decoding articles
7354 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7355 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7358 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7359 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7360 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7361 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7362 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7363 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7367 @cindex article series
7368 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7369 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7370 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7371 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7372 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7374 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7375 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7376 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7378 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7379 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7380 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7382 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7383 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7384 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7387 @node Uuencoded Articles
7388 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7390 @cindex uuencoded articles
7395 @kindex X u (Summary)
7396 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7397 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7398 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7401 @kindex X U (Summary)
7402 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7403 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7404 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7407 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7408 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7409 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7412 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7413 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7414 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7415 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7419 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7420 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7421 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7422 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7423 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7425 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7426 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7427 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7428 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7431 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7432 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7433 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7434 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7435 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7436 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7440 @node Shell Archives
7441 @subsection Shell Archives
7443 @cindex shell archives
7444 @cindex shared articles
7446 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7447 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7448 some commands to deal with these:
7453 @kindex X s (Summary)
7454 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7455 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7458 @kindex X S (Summary)
7459 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7460 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7463 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7464 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7465 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7468 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7469 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7470 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7471 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7475 @node PostScript Files
7476 @subsection PostScript Files
7482 @kindex X p (Summary)
7483 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7484 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7487 @kindex X P (Summary)
7488 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7489 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7490 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7493 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7494 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7495 View the current PostScript series
7496 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7499 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7500 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7501 View and save the current PostScript series
7502 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7507 @subsection Other Files
7511 @kindex X o (Summary)
7512 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7513 Save the current series
7514 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7517 @kindex X b (Summary)
7518 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7519 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7520 doesn't really work yet.
7524 @node Decoding Variables
7525 @subsection Decoding Variables
7527 Adjective, not verb.
7530 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7531 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7532 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7536 @node Rule Variables
7537 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7538 @cindex rule variables
7540 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7541 variables are of the form
7544 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7551 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7552 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7554 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7555 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
7558 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7559 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7562 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7563 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7564 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7565 user and default view rules.
7567 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7568 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7569 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7574 @node Other Decode Variables
7575 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7578 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7580 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7581 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7582 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7583 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7584 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7588 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7589 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7592 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7593 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7594 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7597 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7598 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7599 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7600 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7601 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7604 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7605 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7606 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7608 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7609 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7610 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7611 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7612 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
7615 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7616 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7617 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7619 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7620 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7621 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7622 looking for files to display.
7624 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7625 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7626 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7629 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7630 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7631 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7634 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7635 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7636 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7639 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7640 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7641 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7644 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7645 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7646 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7647 decoded articles as unread.
7649 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7650 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7651 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7652 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7654 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7655 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7656 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7658 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7659 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7661 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7662 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
7663 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7664 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7666 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7667 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7668 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7669 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7670 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7671 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7672 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7673 simply dropped them.
7678 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7679 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7683 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7684 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7685 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7686 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7687 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7688 for you when you post the article.
7690 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7691 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7692 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7693 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7695 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7696 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7697 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7698 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7699 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7700 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7701 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
7703 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7704 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7705 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7706 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7707 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7708 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7709 Default is @code{t}.
7715 @subsection Viewing Files
7716 @cindex viewing files
7717 @cindex pseudo-articles
7719 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7720 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7721 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7722 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7723 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7724 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7725 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7727 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7728 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7729 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7730 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7732 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7733 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7734 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7736 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7737 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7738 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7739 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7740 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7742 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7743 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7744 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7745 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7746 a list of parameters to that command.
7748 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7749 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7750 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7752 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7753 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7754 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7757 @node Article Treatment
7758 @section Article Treatment
7760 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7761 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7762 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7763 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7764 these articles easier.
7767 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7768 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7769 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7770 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7771 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7772 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7773 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7774 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7775 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7776 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
7780 @node Article Highlighting
7781 @subsection Article Highlighting
7782 @cindex highlighting
7784 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7785 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7790 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7791 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7792 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7793 Do much highlighting of the current article
7794 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7795 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7798 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7799 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7800 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7801 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7802 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7803 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7804 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7805 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7806 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7807 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7808 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7809 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7812 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7813 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7814 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7816 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7819 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7821 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7822 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7823 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7825 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7826 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7827 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7829 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7830 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7831 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7832 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7833 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7834 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7836 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7837 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7838 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7840 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7841 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7842 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7844 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7845 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7846 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7847 that it's a citation.
7849 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7850 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7851 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7853 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7854 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7855 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7857 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7858 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7859 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7860 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7866 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7867 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7868 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7869 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7870 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7871 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7872 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7873 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7878 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7881 @node Article Fontisizing
7882 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7884 @cindex article emphasis
7886 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7887 @kindex W e (Summary)
7888 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7889 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7890 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7891 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7893 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7894 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7895 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7896 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7897 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7898 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7899 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7900 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7904 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
7905 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7906 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7915 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7916 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7917 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7918 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7919 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7920 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7921 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7922 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7923 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7924 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7925 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7926 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7927 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7929 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7930 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7931 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7935 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7938 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7940 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7941 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7942 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7943 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7945 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7948 @node Article Hiding
7949 @subsection Article Hiding
7950 @cindex article hiding
7952 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7953 too much cruft in most articles.
7958 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7959 @findex gnus-article-hide
7960 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7961 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7962 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7965 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7966 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7967 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7971 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7972 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7973 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7974 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7977 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7978 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7979 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7983 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7984 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7985 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7986 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7987 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7988 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7989 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7990 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7994 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7995 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7996 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7997 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8002 @kindex W W p (Summary)
8003 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
8004 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8005 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
8006 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
8007 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
8008 articles that have signatures in them do:
8010 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
8012 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
8014 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
8015 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
8017 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
8020 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
8025 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8026 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8027 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8028 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8031 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8032 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8033 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8034 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8037 @cindex stripping advertisements
8038 @cindex advertisements
8039 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8040 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8041 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8042 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8043 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8044 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8045 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8046 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8047 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8048 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8051 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8052 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8053 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8057 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8058 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8059 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8060 @code{(ADDRESS . BANNER)}, where ADDRESS is a regexp matching a mail
8061 address in the From header, BANNER is one of a symbol @code{signature},
8062 an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}, a regexp and @code{nil}.
8063 If ADDRESS matches author's mail address, it will remove things like
8064 advertisements. For example, if a sender has the mail address
8065 @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a banner something like
8066 @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he sends, you can use the
8067 following element to remove them:
8070 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" . "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8076 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8077 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8078 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8079 customizing the hiding:
8083 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8084 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8085 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8086 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8087 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8088 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8089 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8094 Starting point of the hidden text.
8096 Ending point of the hidden text.
8098 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8100 Number of lines of hidden text.
8103 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8104 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8105 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8106 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8107 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8112 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8113 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8115 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8116 following two variables:
8119 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8120 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8121 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8122 50), hide the cited text.
8124 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8125 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8126 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8131 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8132 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8133 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8134 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8135 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8136 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8140 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8141 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8142 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8144 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8145 citation customization.
8147 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8151 @node Article Washing
8152 @subsection Article Washing
8154 @cindex article washing
8156 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8157 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8159 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8160 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8163 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8164 articles by default.
8169 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8170 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8174 @kindex W l (Summary)
8175 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8176 Remove page breaks from the current article
8177 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8181 @kindex W r (Summary)
8182 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8183 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8184 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8185 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8186 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8187 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8189 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8190 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8191 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8192 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8196 @kindex W t (Summary)
8198 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8199 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8200 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8203 @kindex W v (Summary)
8204 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8205 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8206 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8209 @kindex W o (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8211 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8214 @kindex W d (Summary)
8215 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8216 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8218 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8220 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8221 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8222 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8223 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8226 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8227 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8228 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8229 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8232 @kindex W k (Summary)
8233 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8234 @cindex Outlook Express
8235 Deuglify broken Outlook (Express) articles and redisplay
8236 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8239 @kindex W w (Summary)
8240 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8241 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8243 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8247 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8248 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8249 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8252 @kindex W C (Summary)
8253 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8254 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8255 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8258 @kindex W c (Summary)
8259 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8260 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8261 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8262 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8263 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8266 @kindex W q (Summary)
8267 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8268 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8269 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
8270 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
8271 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
8272 readable to me. Note that this is usually done automatically by
8273 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
8274 header that says that this encoding has been done.
8275 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8278 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8279 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8280 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
8281 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
8282 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is usually done
8283 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8284 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
8286 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8289 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8290 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8291 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8292 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8293 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8296 @kindex W u (Summary)
8297 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8298 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8299 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8300 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8301 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8304 @kindex W h (Summary)
8305 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8306 Treat @sc{html} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8307 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8308 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @sc{html}.
8310 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8312 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8313 The default is to use the function specified by
8314 @code{mm-inline-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Customization, , , emacs-mime})
8315 to convert the @sc{html}, but this is controlled by the
8316 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8324 Use emacs-w3m (see @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/} for more
8328 Use Links (see @uref{http://artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~mikulas/links/}).
8331 Use Lynx (see @uref{http://lynx.browser.org/}).
8334 Use html2text -- a simple @sc{html} converter included with Gnus.
8339 @kindex W b (Summary)
8340 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8341 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8342 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8345 @kindex W B (Summary)
8346 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8347 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8348 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8351 @kindex W p (Summary)
8352 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8353 Verify a signed control message (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}).
8354 Control messages such as @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are
8355 usually signed by the hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the PGP
8356 public key of the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8357 message.@footnote{PGP keys for many hierarchies are available at
8358 @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8361 @kindex W s (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8363 Verify a signed (PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}) message
8364 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8367 @kindex W a (Summary)
8368 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8369 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8370 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8373 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8374 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8375 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8376 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8379 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8380 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8381 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8382 lines with a single empty line.
8383 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8386 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8387 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8388 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8389 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8392 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8393 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8394 Do all the three commands above
8395 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8398 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8399 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8400 Remove all blank lines
8401 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8404 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8405 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8406 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8407 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8410 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8411 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8412 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8413 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8417 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8420 @node Article Header
8421 @subsection Article Header
8423 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8428 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8429 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8430 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8433 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8434 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8435 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8436 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8439 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8440 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8441 Fold all the message headers
8442 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8446 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8447 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8448 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8453 @node Article Buttons
8454 @subsection Article Buttons
8457 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8458 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8459 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8460 button on these references.
8462 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8463 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8464 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links and man pages.
8465 This is controlled by two variables, one that handles article bodies and
8466 one that handles article heads:
8470 @item gnus-button-alist
8471 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8472 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8475 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8481 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
8482 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
8483 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a variable containing a
8484 regexp, useful variables to use include @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}.
8487 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8488 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8489 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8492 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8493 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8494 avoid false matches.
8497 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8500 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8501 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8505 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8508 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8511 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8512 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8513 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8514 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8515 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8518 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
8521 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8523 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8524 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8525 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8526 default values of the variables above.
8528 @item gnus-article-button-face
8529 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8530 Face used on buttons.
8532 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8533 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8534 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8538 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8542 @subsection Article Date
8544 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8545 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8546 when the article was sent.
8551 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8552 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8553 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8554 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8557 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8558 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8560 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8561 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8564 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8566 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8569 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8570 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8571 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8572 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8575 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8576 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8577 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8578 @findex format-time-string
8579 Display the date using a user-defined format
8580 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8581 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8582 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8583 for a list of possible format specs.
8586 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8587 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8588 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8589 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8590 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8591 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8594 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8597 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8598 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8601 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8602 into wonderful absurdities.
8604 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8607 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8610 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8611 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8615 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8616 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8617 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8618 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8619 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8620 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8621 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8625 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8626 preferred format automatically.
8629 @node Article Display
8630 @subsection Article Display
8635 These commands add various frivolous display gimmics to the article
8636 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8638 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8639 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8641 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8642 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8644 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8645 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8647 All these functions are toggles--if the elements already exist,
8652 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8653 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8654 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8655 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8658 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8659 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8660 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
8663 @kindex W D f (Summary)
8664 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
8665 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
8668 @kindex W D m (Summary)
8669 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
8670 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
8671 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
8674 @kindex W D n (Summary)
8675 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
8676 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
8677 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
8680 @kindex W D D (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
8682 Remove all images from the article buffer
8683 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
8689 @node Article Signature
8690 @subsection Article Signature
8692 @cindex article signature
8694 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8695 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
8696 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
8697 that says what is to be considered a signature is
8698 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
8699 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
8700 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
8701 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
8702 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
8705 (setq gnus-signature-separator
8706 '("^-- $" ; The standard
8707 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
8708 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
8709 ; line of dashes. Shame!
8710 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
8711 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
8712 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
8715 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
8718 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
8719 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
8720 signature when displaying articles.
8724 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
8727 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
8730 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
8731 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
8733 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
8734 in question is not a signature.
8737 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
8738 listed above. Here's an example:
8741 (setq gnus-signature-limit
8742 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
8745 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
8746 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
8747 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
8748 signature after all.
8751 @node Article Miscellania
8752 @subsection Article Miscellania
8756 @kindex A t (Summary)
8757 @findex gnus-article-babel
8758 Translate the article from one language to another
8759 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
8765 @section MIME Commands
8766 @cindex MIME decoding
8768 @cindex viewing attachments
8770 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
8771 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
8777 @kindex K v (Summary)
8778 View the @sc{mime} part.
8781 @kindex K o (Summary)
8782 Save the @sc{mime} part.
8785 @kindex K c (Summary)
8786 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
8789 @kindex K e (Summary)
8790 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
8793 @kindex K i (Summary)
8794 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
8797 @kindex K | (Summary)
8798 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
8801 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
8806 @kindex K b (Summary)
8807 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
8808 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
8812 @kindex K m (Summary)
8813 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
8814 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
8815 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
8816 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
8817 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
8820 @kindex X m (Summary)
8821 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
8822 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
8823 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
8824 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8827 @kindex M-t (Summary)
8828 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
8829 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
8830 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
8833 @kindex W M w (Summary)
8834 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
8835 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
8836 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
8839 @kindex W M c (Summary)
8840 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
8841 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
8842 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
8844 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
8845 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
8846 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
8847 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
8848 include @sc{mime} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
8849 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8852 @kindex W M v (Summary)
8853 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
8854 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
8855 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
8862 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
8863 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
8864 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8865 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
8868 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
8871 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
8875 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8876 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
8877 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8878 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8879 displayed or this variable is overriden by
8880 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
8883 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8884 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
8885 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
8886 this list will have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
8887 displayed. This variable overrides
8888 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
8890 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
8891 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
8892 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} to the default value.
8894 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
8895 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
8896 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
8897 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
8898 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
8899 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
8900 save all jpegs into some directory).
8902 Here's an example function the does the latter:
8905 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
8906 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
8908 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
8909 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
8910 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
8911 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
8912 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
8915 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8916 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
8917 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
8919 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8920 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8921 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @sc{mime} parts.
8922 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
8924 Ready-made functions include@*
8925 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
8926 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
8927 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
8928 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
8929 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
8930 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
8931 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
8932 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
8933 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8934 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8935 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8936 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
8938 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
8939 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
8941 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
8942 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
8943 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
8946 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
8947 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
8948 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
8949 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
8953 to your @file{.gnus} file.
8962 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
8963 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
8964 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
8965 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
8966 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
8967 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
8968 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
8970 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
8971 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
8972 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
8973 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
8975 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
8976 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
8977 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
8978 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
8979 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
8980 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
8981 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
8982 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
8984 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
8985 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
8986 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
8987 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8988 quoted-printable header encoding.
8990 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8991 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8992 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8996 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8999 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9000 means encode all charsets),
9002 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9003 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9004 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9011 @cindex coding system aliases
9012 @cindex preferred charset
9014 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9016 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9017 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9020 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9021 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9024 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9025 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
9027 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9030 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9033 This will almost do the right thing.
9035 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9039 (codepage-setup 1251)
9040 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9044 @node Article Commands
9045 @section Article Commands
9052 @kindex A P (Summary)
9053 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9054 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9055 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9056 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9057 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9058 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9063 @node Summary Sorting
9064 @section Summary Sorting
9065 @cindex summary sorting
9067 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9068 can't really see why you'd want that.
9073 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9074 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9075 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9078 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9079 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9080 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9083 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9084 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9085 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9088 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9089 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9090 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9093 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9094 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9095 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9098 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9099 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9100 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9103 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9104 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9105 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9108 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9109 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9110 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9113 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9114 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9115 Sort using the default sorting method
9116 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9119 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9120 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9121 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9122 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9123 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9127 @node Finding the Parent
9128 @section Finding the Parent
9129 @cindex parent articles
9130 @cindex referring articles
9135 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9136 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9137 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9138 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
9139 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9140 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9141 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9142 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9143 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9145 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9146 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9147 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9148 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9149 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9153 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9154 @kindex A R (Summary)
9155 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9156 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9159 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9160 @kindex A T (Summary)
9161 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9162 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9163 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9164 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9165 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9166 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9167 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9169 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9170 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9171 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9172 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9173 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9174 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9177 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9178 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9180 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9181 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
9182 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9183 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9184 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9185 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9186 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9189 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9190 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9191 by giving this command a prefix.
9193 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9194 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9195 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9196 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
9197 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
9198 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9201 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9202 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9203 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9206 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9207 then ask Google if that fails:
9210 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9212 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type google))))
9215 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9216 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9217 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9218 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9219 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9220 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9221 support this at all.
9224 @node Alternative Approaches
9225 @section Alternative Approaches
9227 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9228 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9231 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9232 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9237 @subsection Pick and Read
9238 @cindex pick and read
9240 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9241 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9242 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9243 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9245 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9246 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9247 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9248 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9249 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9250 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9252 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9257 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9258 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9259 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9260 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9261 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9262 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9263 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9264 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9267 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9268 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9269 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9270 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9274 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9275 Unpick the thread or article
9276 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9277 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9278 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9279 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9280 the thread or article at that line.
9284 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9285 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9286 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9287 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9288 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9289 will still be visible when you are reading.
9293 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9294 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9295 which is mapped to the same function
9296 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9298 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9301 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9304 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9305 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9307 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9308 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9309 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9311 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9312 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9313 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9314 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9315 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9316 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9317 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9321 @subsection Binary Groups
9322 @cindex binary groups
9324 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9325 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9326 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9327 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9328 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9329 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9330 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9333 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9334 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9335 command, when you have turned on this mode
9336 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9338 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9339 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9343 @section Tree Display
9346 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9347 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9348 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9349 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9352 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9355 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9356 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9357 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9359 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9360 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9361 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9362 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9363 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9365 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9366 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9367 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9368 default is @code{modeline}.
9370 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9371 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9372 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9373 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9374 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9375 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9376 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9382 The name of the poster.
9384 The @code{From} header.
9386 The number of the article.
9388 The opening bracket.
9390 The closing bracket.
9395 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9397 Variables related to the display are:
9400 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9401 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9402 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9403 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9404 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
9405 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9407 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9408 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9409 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9410 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9414 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9415 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9416 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9417 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9418 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9419 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9420 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9421 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9422 other windows displayed next to it.
9424 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9428 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9429 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9432 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9433 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9434 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9435 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9436 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9437 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9438 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9442 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9445 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9455 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9459 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9460 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9462 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9464 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9469 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9470 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9471 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
9474 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9475 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9476 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9477 (gnus-add-configuration
9481 (summary 0.75 point)
9486 @xref{Window Layout}.
9489 @node Mail Group Commands
9490 @section Mail Group Commands
9491 @cindex mail group commands
9493 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9494 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9496 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9497 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9502 @kindex B e (Summary)
9503 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9504 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9505 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9506 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9507 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9510 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9511 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9512 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9513 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9514 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9515 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9518 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9519 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9520 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9521 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9522 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9523 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9526 @kindex B m (Summary)
9528 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9529 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9530 Move the article from one mail group to another
9531 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9532 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9535 @kindex B c (Summary)
9537 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9538 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9539 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9540 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9541 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9544 @kindex B B (Summary)
9545 @cindex crosspost mail
9546 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9547 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9548 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9549 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9550 be properly updated.
9553 @kindex B i (Summary)
9554 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9555 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9556 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9557 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9560 @kindex B I (Summary)
9561 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9562 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9563 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9564 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9567 @kindex B r (Summary)
9568 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9569 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9570 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9571 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9572 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9573 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9574 (which is the default).
9578 @kindex B w (Summary)
9580 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9581 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9582 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9583 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9584 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9585 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9586 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9589 @kindex B q (Summary)
9590 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9591 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9592 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9593 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9596 @kindex B t (Summary)
9597 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9598 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9599 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9602 @kindex B p (Summary)
9603 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9604 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
9605 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9606 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9607 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9608 article from your news server (or rather, from
9609 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9610 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9611 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9612 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9613 just not have arrived yet.
9616 @kindex K E (Summary)
9617 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9618 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9619 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9620 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9621 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9625 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9626 @cindex moving articles
9627 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9628 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9629 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9630 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
9631 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
9632 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
9633 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
9636 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
9637 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
9638 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
9639 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
9643 @node Various Summary Stuff
9644 @section Various Summary Stuff
9647 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
9648 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
9649 * Summary Generation Commands::
9650 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
9654 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
9655 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
9656 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
9658 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
9659 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
9660 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
9661 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
9662 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
9663 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
9666 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9667 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
9668 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
9669 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
9670 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
9672 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9673 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
9674 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
9677 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9678 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
9679 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
9680 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
9681 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
9682 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
9683 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
9684 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
9685 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
9686 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
9688 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9689 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
9690 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
9691 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
9692 list of articles to be selected.
9694 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
9695 the list in one particular group:
9698 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
9699 (if (string= group "some.group")
9700 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
9704 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
9705 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
9706 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
9707 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
9708 nil), that should be made global while the summary buffer is active.
9709 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
9710 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
9711 buffers. For example:
9714 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
9715 '(message-use-followup-to
9716 (gnus-visible-headers .
9717 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
9723 @node Summary Group Information
9724 @subsection Summary Group Information
9729 @kindex H f (Summary)
9730 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
9731 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
9732 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
9733 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
9734 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
9735 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
9736 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
9737 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
9738 be used for fetching the file.
9741 @kindex H d (Summary)
9742 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
9743 Give a brief description of the current group
9744 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
9745 rereading the description from the server.
9748 @kindex H h (Summary)
9749 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
9750 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
9751 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
9754 @kindex H i (Summary)
9755 @findex gnus-info-find-node
9756 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
9760 @node Searching for Articles
9761 @subsection Searching for Articles
9766 @kindex M-s (Summary)
9767 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
9768 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
9769 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
9772 @kindex M-r (Summary)
9773 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
9774 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
9775 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
9779 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
9780 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
9781 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
9782 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
9783 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
9784 search backward instead.
9786 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
9787 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
9790 @kindex M-& (Summary)
9791 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
9792 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
9793 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
9796 @node Summary Generation Commands
9797 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
9802 @kindex Y g (Summary)
9803 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
9804 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
9807 @kindex Y c (Summary)
9808 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
9809 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
9810 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
9815 @node Really Various Summary Commands
9816 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
9822 @kindex C-d (Summary)
9823 @kindex A D (Summary)
9824 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
9825 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
9826 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
9827 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
9828 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
9829 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
9830 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
9831 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
9835 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
9836 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
9837 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
9838 several documents into one biiig group
9839 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
9840 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
9841 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
9842 command understands the process/prefix convention
9843 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9846 @kindex C-t (Summary)
9847 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
9848 Toggle truncation of summary lines
9849 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
9850 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
9851 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
9855 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
9856 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
9857 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
9860 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
9861 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
9862 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9863 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
9866 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
9867 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
9868 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
9869 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
9874 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
9875 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
9876 @cindex summary exit
9877 @cindex exiting groups
9879 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
9880 group and return you to the group buffer.
9886 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
9888 @findex gnus-summary-exit
9889 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
9890 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
9891 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
9892 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
9893 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
9894 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
9895 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
9896 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
9897 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
9898 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
9902 @kindex Z E (Summary)
9904 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
9905 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
9906 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
9910 @kindex Z c (Summary)
9912 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
9913 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
9914 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
9915 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
9918 @kindex Z C (Summary)
9919 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
9920 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
9921 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
9924 @kindex Z n (Summary)
9925 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
9926 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
9927 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
9930 @kindex Z R (Summary)
9931 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
9932 Exit this group, and then enter it again
9933 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
9934 all articles, both read and unread.
9938 @kindex Z G (Summary)
9939 @kindex M-g (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
9941 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
9942 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
9943 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
9944 articles, both read and unread.
9947 @kindex Z N (Summary)
9948 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
9949 Exit the group and go to the next group
9950 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
9953 @kindex Z P (Summary)
9954 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
9955 Exit the group and go to the previous group
9956 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
9959 @kindex Z s (Summary)
9960 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
9961 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
9962 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
9963 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
9964 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
9967 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
9968 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
9969 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
9970 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
9972 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
9973 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
9974 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
9975 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
9976 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
9977 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
9978 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
9979 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
9980 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
9981 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
9982 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
9983 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
9985 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
9987 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
9988 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
9989 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
9990 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
9991 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
9992 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
9993 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
9994 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
9995 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
9998 @node Crosspost Handling
9999 @section Crosspost Handling
10003 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10004 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10005 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10006 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10007 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10008 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10011 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10012 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10013 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10014 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10015 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10017 @cindex cross-posting
10020 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10021 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
10022 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10023 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
10024 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10025 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10026 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10027 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10028 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10029 the cross reference mechanism.
10031 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10032 @cindex overview.fmt
10033 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10034 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10035 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10036 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10037 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10038 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10041 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10042 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10043 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10048 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10051 @node Duplicate Suppression
10052 @section Duplicate Suppression
10054 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10055 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10056 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10057 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10062 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10063 is evil and not very common.
10066 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10067 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10070 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10071 different @sc{nntp} servers.
10074 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10077 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10078 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10080 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10081 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10082 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10083 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10084 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10085 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10086 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10089 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10090 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10091 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10092 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10093 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10094 saw the article in.
10097 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10098 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10099 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10101 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10102 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10103 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10104 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10105 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10106 session are suppressed.
10108 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10109 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10110 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10111 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10113 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10114 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10115 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10116 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10119 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10120 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10121 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10122 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10123 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10124 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10125 to you to figure out, I think.
10130 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10131 The formats that are supported are PGP, @sc{pgp/mime} and @sc{s/mime},
10132 however you need some external programs to get things to work:
10136 To handle PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or gpg.el as
10137 well as a OpenPGP implementation (such as GnuPG).
10140 To handle @sc{s/mime} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10141 or newer is recommended.
10145 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10146 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10149 @item mm-verify-option
10150 @vindex mm-verify-option
10151 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10152 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10153 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10155 @item mm-decrypt-option
10156 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10157 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10158 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10159 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10164 @section Mailing List
10166 @kindex A M (summary)
10167 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10168 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10169 either add a `to-list' group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10170 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10171 summary buffer, or say:
10174 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-mailing-list-mode)
10177 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10182 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10183 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10184 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10187 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10188 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10189 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10192 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10193 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10194 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10198 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10199 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10200 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10203 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10204 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10205 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10208 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10209 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10210 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10214 @node Article Buffer
10215 @chapter Article Buffer
10216 @cindex article buffer
10218 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10219 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10220 tell Gnus otherwise.
10223 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10224 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
10225 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10226 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10227 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10231 @node Hiding Headers
10232 @section Hiding Headers
10233 @cindex hiding headers
10234 @cindex deleting headers
10236 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10237 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10239 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10240 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10241 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10242 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10243 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10244 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10245 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
10246 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10247 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10249 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10253 @item gnus-visible-headers
10254 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10255 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10256 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10257 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10259 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10260 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10263 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10266 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10269 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10270 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10271 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10272 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10273 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10274 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10276 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10277 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10280 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10283 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10286 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10287 variable will have no effect.
10291 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10292 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10293 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10294 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10295 the headers are to be displayed.
10297 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10298 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10301 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10304 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10305 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10307 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10308 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10309 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10310 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10311 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10312 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10313 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10316 These conditions are:
10319 Remove all empty headers.
10321 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10322 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10324 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10325 @code{From} header.
10327 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10330 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10331 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10333 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10336 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10338 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10341 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10344 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10345 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10348 This is also the default value for this variable.
10352 @section Using MIME
10355 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10356 while people stand around yawning.
10358 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10359 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10361 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10362 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10363 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10365 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10366 @findex gnus-display-mime
10367 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10368 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10369 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10370 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
10372 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10376 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10377 @item RET (Article)
10378 @kindex RET (Article)
10379 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10380 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
10381 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If builtin viewers can not display
10382 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10383 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10384 object is displayed inline.
10386 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10387 @item M-RET (Article)
10388 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10390 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10391 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10393 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10395 @kindex t (Article)
10396 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
10397 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10399 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10401 @kindex C (Article)
10402 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
10403 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10405 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10407 @kindex o (Article)
10408 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
10409 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10411 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10412 @item C-o (Article)
10413 @kindex C-o (Article)
10414 Prompt for a file name, then save the @sc{mime} object and strip it from
10415 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10416 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10417 like. The stripped @sc{mime} object will be referred via the
10418 message/external-body @sc{mime} type.
10419 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10421 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10423 @kindex c (Article)
10424 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10425 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
10427 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10429 @kindex p (Article)
10430 Print the @sc{mime} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10431 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10432 @file{.mailcap} file.
10434 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10436 @kindex i (Article)
10437 Insert the contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
10438 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10439 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10440 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10441 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10444 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10446 @kindex E (Article)
10447 View the @sc{mime} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10448 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10449 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10451 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10453 @kindex e (Article)
10454 View the @sc{mime} object with an external viewer.
10455 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10457 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10459 @kindex | (Article)
10460 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10462 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10464 @kindex . (Article)
10465 Interactively run an action on the @sc{mime} object
10466 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10470 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10471 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10474 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10475 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10476 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
10477 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10478 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10479 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10480 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10481 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10482 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10484 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10486 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10489 @node Customizing Articles
10490 @section Customizing Articles
10491 @cindex article customization
10493 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10494 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
10495 called automatically when you select the articles.
10497 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10498 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10499 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10500 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10502 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10503 for sensible values.
10507 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10510 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10513 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10516 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10519 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10523 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10524 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10525 regexps in the list.
10528 A list where the first element is not a string:
10530 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10531 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10532 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10536 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10541 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10542 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
10543 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10544 considered to contain just a single part.
10546 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10547 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10548 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10549 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10550 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10551 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10552 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10554 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10555 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10556 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10557 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
10560 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
10561 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
10563 @xref{Article Buttons}.
10565 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
10566 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
10567 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
10568 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
10569 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
10570 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
10571 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
10572 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
10573 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
10574 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
10576 @xref{Article Washing}.
10578 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
10579 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
10580 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
10581 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
10582 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
10583 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
10584 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
10586 @xref{Article Date}.
10588 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
10589 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
10590 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
10594 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
10596 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
10598 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
10599 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
10600 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
10604 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
10608 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
10609 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
10610 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
10611 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
10612 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
10613 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
10614 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
10615 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
10617 @xref{Article Hiding}.
10619 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
10620 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
10621 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
10623 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
10625 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
10626 @item gnus-treat-translate
10627 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
10629 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
10630 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
10631 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
10632 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
10634 @xref{Article Header}.
10639 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
10640 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
10641 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
10642 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
10643 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
10647 @node Article Keymap
10648 @section Article Keymap
10650 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
10651 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
10652 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
10653 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
10656 A few additional keystrokes are available:
10661 @kindex SPACE (Article)
10662 @findex gnus-article-next-page
10663 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
10666 @kindex DEL (Article)
10667 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
10668 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
10671 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
10672 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
10673 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
10674 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
10675 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
10678 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
10679 @findex gnus-article-mail
10680 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
10681 given a prefix, include the mail.
10684 @kindex s (Article)
10685 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
10686 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
10687 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
10690 @kindex ? (Article)
10691 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
10692 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
10693 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
10696 @kindex TAB (Article)
10697 @findex gnus-article-next-button
10698 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
10699 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
10702 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
10703 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
10704 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
10707 @kindex R (Article)
10708 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
10709 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
10710 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
10711 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10715 @kindex F (Article)
10716 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
10717 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
10718 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
10719 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
10727 @section Misc Article
10731 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
10732 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
10733 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
10734 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
10737 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
10738 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
10740 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
10741 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
10743 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
10744 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
10745 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
10746 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
10747 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
10748 the contents of the article buffer.
10750 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
10751 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
10752 Hook called in article mode buffers.
10754 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10755 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
10756 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
10757 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
10759 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
10760 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
10761 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
10762 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
10763 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
10769 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
10770 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
10771 performed. The characters and their meaning:
10776 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
10779 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
10782 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
10783 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
10784 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
10787 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
10790 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
10793 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
10798 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
10802 @vindex gnus-break-pages
10804 @item gnus-break-pages
10805 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
10806 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
10807 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
10808 paging will not be done.
10810 @item gnus-page-delimiter
10811 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
10812 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
10817 @node Composing Messages
10818 @chapter Composing Messages
10819 @cindex composing messages
10822 @cindex sending mail
10827 @cindex using s/mime
10828 @cindex using smime
10830 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
10831 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
10832 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
10833 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
10834 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
10835 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
10838 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
10839 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
10840 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
10841 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
10842 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
10843 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
10844 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
10845 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
10848 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
10849 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
10855 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
10858 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
10859 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
10860 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
10861 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
10863 @item gnus-add-to-list
10864 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
10865 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
10866 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
10868 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10869 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
10870 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus requests confirmation when replying to news.
10871 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
10872 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
10877 @node Posting Server
10878 @section Posting Server
10880 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
10881 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
10883 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
10885 It can be quite complicated.
10887 @vindex gnus-post-method
10888 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
10889 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
10890 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
10891 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
10892 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
10893 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
10894 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
10895 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
10896 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
10899 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
10902 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
10903 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
10904 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
10905 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
10907 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
10908 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
10910 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
10911 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
10914 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
10915 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
10917 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
10918 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
10919 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
10920 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
10921 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @sc{smtp}
10922 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
10923 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
10924 package correctly. An example:
10927 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
10928 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
10931 To the thing similar to this, there is @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}.
10932 It is useful if your ISP requires the POP-before-SMTP authentication.
10933 See the documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
10935 Other possible choises for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
10936 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
10937 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
10939 @node Mail and Post
10940 @section Mail and Post
10942 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
10946 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
10947 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
10948 @cindex mailing lists
10950 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
10951 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
10952 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
10953 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
10954 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
10955 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
10956 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
10957 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
10958 still a pain, though.
10962 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
10963 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
10964 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
10967 @findex ispell-message
10969 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
10972 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
10973 you're in, you could say something like the following:
10976 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
10980 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
10981 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
10983 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
10986 Modify to suit your needs.
10989 @node Archived Messages
10990 @section Archived Messages
10991 @cindex archived messages
10992 @cindex sent messages
10994 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
10995 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
10996 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
10997 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11000 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11001 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11004 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11005 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11006 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11009 (nnfolder "archive"
11010 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11011 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11012 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11013 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11016 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11017 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11018 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11019 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11022 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11023 '(nnfolder "archive"
11024 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11025 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11026 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11029 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11031 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11032 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11033 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11035 This variable can be used to do the following:
11040 Messages will be saved in that group.
11042 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11043 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11044 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11045 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11046 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11047 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11048 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11049 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11053 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11055 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11056 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11059 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11064 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11066 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11069 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11071 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11074 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11076 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11077 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11078 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11079 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11082 More complex stuff:
11084 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11085 '((if (message-news-p)
11090 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11091 messages in one file per month:
11094 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11095 '((if (message-news-p)
11097 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11100 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11101 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11103 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11104 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11105 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11106 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11107 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11108 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11109 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11110 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11111 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11112 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11114 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11115 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11116 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11117 this will disable archiving.
11120 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11121 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11122 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11123 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11124 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11127 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11128 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11129 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11132 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11133 but the latter is the preferred method.
11135 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11136 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11137 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11139 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11140 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11141 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11142 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11143 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11144 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11145 changed in the future.
11150 @node Posting Styles
11151 @section Posting Styles
11152 @cindex posting styles
11155 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11157 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11158 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11159 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11162 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11163 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11164 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11165 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11166 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11171 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11172 (organization "What me?"))
11174 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11175 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11176 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11179 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11180 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11181 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11182 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11183 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11184 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11185 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11186 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11188 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11189 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11190 If it is the form @code{(header MATCH REGEXP)}, then Gnus will look in
11191 the original article for a header whose name is MATCH and compare that
11192 REGEXP. MATCH and REGEXP are strings. If it's a function symbol, that
11193 function will be called with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol,
11194 then the variable will be referenced. If it's a list, then that list
11195 will be @code{eval}ed. In any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil}
11196 value, then the style is said to @dfn{match}.
11198 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11199 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11200 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11201 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11202 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11203 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11204 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11205 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11206 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11207 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11210 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11211 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11212 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11213 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11214 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11215 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11216 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11217 references chars lines xref extra.
11219 @vindex message-reply-headers
11221 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11222 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11223 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11225 @findex message-mail-p
11226 @findex message-news-p
11228 So here's a new example:
11231 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11233 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11235 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11236 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11238 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11239 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; A form
11240 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11241 (message-news-p ;; A function symbol
11242 (signature my-news-signature))
11243 (window-system ;; A value symbol
11244 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11245 ;; If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.
11246 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11247 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11248 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; A user defined function
11249 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11250 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11251 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11252 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11254 (From (save-excursion
11255 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11256 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11258 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11261 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11262 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11263 if you fill many roles.
11270 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11271 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11272 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11273 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11274 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11276 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11277 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11278 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11279 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11280 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11284 @vindex nndraft-directory
11285 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11286 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11287 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11288 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11289 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11290 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11292 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11293 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11296 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11297 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11298 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11299 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11300 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11301 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11302 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11303 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11304 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11305 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11306 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11307 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11308 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11309 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11311 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11312 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11313 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11315 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11316 @kindex D e (Draft)
11317 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11318 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11319 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11321 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11324 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11325 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11326 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11327 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11328 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11329 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11330 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11333 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11334 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11335 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11338 @node Rejected Articles
11339 @section Rejected Articles
11340 @cindex rejected articles
11342 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11343 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11344 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11345 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11347 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11348 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11349 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11350 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11351 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11353 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11354 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11355 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11357 @node Signing and encrypting
11358 @section Signing and encrypting
11360 @cindex using s/mime
11361 @cindex using smime
11363 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla PGP
11364 format or @sc{pgp/mime} or @sc{s/mime}. For decoding such messages,
11365 see the @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} options
11366 (@pxref{Security}).
11368 For PGP, Gnus supports two external libraries, @sc{gpg.el} and
11369 @sc{Mailcrypt}, you need to install at least one of them. The
11370 @sc{s/mime} support in Gnus requires the external program OpenSSL.
11372 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11373 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11374 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11375 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11376 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11377 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11378 automatically encrypted messages.
11380 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @sc{mime} part is
11381 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11382 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11387 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11388 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11390 Digitally sign current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11393 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11394 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11396 Digitally sign current message using PGP.
11399 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11400 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11402 Digitally sign current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11405 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11406 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11408 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{s/mime}.
11411 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11412 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11414 Digitally encrypt current message using PGP.
11417 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11418 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11420 Digitally encrypt current message using @sc{pgp/mime}.
11423 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11424 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11425 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11429 Also @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}.
11431 @node Select Methods
11432 @chapter Select Methods
11433 @cindex foreign groups
11434 @cindex select methods
11436 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11437 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11438 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11439 personal mail group.
11441 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11442 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11443 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11444 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11445 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11446 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11448 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11449 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11451 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11454 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
11455 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11456 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11457 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11458 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11460 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11463 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11464 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11465 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11466 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11467 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
11468 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11469 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11470 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11474 @node Server Buffer
11475 @section Server Buffer
11477 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11478 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11479 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11480 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11481 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11482 back end represents a virtual server.
11484 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11485 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11486 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11487 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11489 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11490 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11491 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11492 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11493 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11494 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11495 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11497 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11498 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11501 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11502 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
11503 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
11504 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
11505 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
11506 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
11507 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
11510 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
11511 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
11514 @node Server Buffer Format
11515 @subsection Server Buffer Format
11516 @cindex server buffer format
11518 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
11519 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
11520 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
11521 variable, with some simple extensions:
11526 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
11529 The name of this server.
11532 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
11535 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
11538 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
11539 The mode line can also be customized by using the
11540 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
11541 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
11551 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
11554 @node Server Commands
11555 @subsection Server Commands
11556 @cindex server commands
11562 @findex gnus-server-add-server
11563 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
11567 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
11568 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
11571 @kindex SPACE (Server)
11572 @findex gnus-server-read-server
11573 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
11577 @findex gnus-server-exit
11578 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
11582 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
11583 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
11587 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
11588 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
11592 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
11593 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
11597 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
11598 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
11602 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
11603 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
11604 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
11609 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
11610 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
11611 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
11612 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
11617 @node Example Methods
11618 @subsection Example Methods
11620 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
11623 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
11626 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
11632 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
11633 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
11636 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
11637 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
11639 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
11640 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
11644 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
11647 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
11648 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
11650 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
11651 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
11652 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
11656 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
11659 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
11662 Here's the method for a public spool:
11666 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
11667 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
11673 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
11674 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
11675 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
11676 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
11677 should probably look something like this:
11681 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
11682 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
11683 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
11684 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11687 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
11688 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
11689 configuration to the example above:
11692 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
11695 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
11697 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
11698 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
11699 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
11703 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
11704 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
11705 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
11706 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
11709 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
11710 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
11711 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
11712 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
11715 @node Creating a Virtual Server
11716 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
11718 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
11719 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
11721 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
11722 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
11723 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
11725 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
11727 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
11728 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
11729 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
11730 will contain the following:
11740 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
11741 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
11742 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
11745 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
11746 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
11747 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
11750 @node Server Variables
11751 @subsection Server Variables
11753 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
11754 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
11755 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
11756 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
11757 won't change the "derived" variables.
11759 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
11760 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
11761 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
11762 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
11763 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
11764 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
11765 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
11766 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
11767 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
11771 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
11772 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
11773 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
11777 @node Servers and Methods
11778 @subsection Servers and Methods
11780 Wherever you would normally use a select method
11781 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
11782 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
11783 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
11787 @node Unavailable Servers
11788 @subsection Unavailable Servers
11790 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
11791 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
11792 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
11793 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
11794 actually the case or not.
11796 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
11797 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
11798 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
11799 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
11800 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
11801 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
11802 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
11803 it will regard that server as ``down''.
11805 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
11806 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
11808 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
11809 with the following commands:
11815 @findex gnus-server-open-server
11816 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
11817 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
11821 @findex gnus-server-close-server
11822 Close the connection (if any) to the server
11823 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
11827 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
11828 Mark the current server as unreachable
11829 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
11832 @kindex M-o (Server)
11833 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
11834 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
11835 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
11838 @kindex M-c (Server)
11839 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
11840 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
11841 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
11845 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
11846 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
11847 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
11851 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
11852 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
11858 @section Getting News
11859 @cindex reading news
11860 @cindex news back ends
11862 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
11863 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
11864 or it can read from a local spool.
11867 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
11868 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
11876 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
11877 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
11878 server as the, uhm, address.
11880 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
11881 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
11882 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
11883 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11885 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
11886 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
11887 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
11889 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
11894 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
11895 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
11896 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
11898 @cindex authentification
11899 @cindex nntp authentification
11900 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11901 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
11902 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
11903 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
11904 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
11905 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
11906 present in this hook.
11908 @item nntp-authinfo-function
11909 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
11910 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
11911 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
11912 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
11913 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
11914 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
11915 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
11916 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
11917 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
11918 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
11919 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
11923 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
11926 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
11928 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
11929 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
11930 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
11931 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
11932 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
11933 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
11934 @samp{force} is explained below.
11938 Here's an example file:
11941 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
11942 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
11945 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
11946 have to be first, for instance.
11948 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
11949 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
11950 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
11951 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
11952 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
11953 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
11954 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
11956 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
11957 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
11963 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
11964 previously mentioned.
11966 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
11968 @item nntp-server-action-alist
11969 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
11970 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
11971 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
11972 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
11975 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
11976 '(("innd" (ding))))
11979 You probably don't want to do that, though.
11981 The default value is
11984 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
11985 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
11986 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
11989 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
11990 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
11992 @item nntp-maximum-request
11993 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
11994 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this back end
11995 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
11996 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
11997 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
11998 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
11999 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12001 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12002 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12003 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12004 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
12005 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12006 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12007 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12008 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12009 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12010 no timeouts are done.
12012 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12013 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12014 @c @cindex PPP connections
12015 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12016 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12017 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12018 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
12019 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12020 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12021 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12022 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12023 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12024 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12026 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12027 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12028 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12029 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12030 @c described above.
12032 @item nntp-server-hook
12033 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12034 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
12037 @item nntp-buggy-select
12038 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12039 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12041 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12042 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12043 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
12044 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
12047 @item nntp-xover-commands
12048 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12051 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
12052 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12056 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12057 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
12058 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12059 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12060 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
12061 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12062 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12063 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12064 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12065 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12066 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12068 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12069 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12070 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
12072 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12073 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12074 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12075 server closes connection.
12077 @item nntp-record-commands
12078 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12079 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12080 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12081 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
12082 that doesn't seem to work.
12084 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12085 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12086 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12087 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12088 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12089 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12090 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12091 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12093 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12094 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12095 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12096 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12097 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12098 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12099 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12102 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12105 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12106 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12110 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12111 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12112 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12116 @node Direct Functions
12117 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12118 @cindex direct connection functions
12120 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12121 between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server. The behavior of these
12122 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12123 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12126 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12127 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12128 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12131 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12132 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12133 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12134 this you must have OpenSSL (@uref{http://www.openssl.org}) or SSLeay
12135 installed (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also
12136 need @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
12137 define a server as follows:
12140 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
12142 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
12143 ;; however, openssl s_client -port doesn't like named ports
12145 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12146 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12147 (nntp-port-number 563)
12148 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12151 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12152 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12153 Opens a connection to an @sc{nntp} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12154 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12155 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12156 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12157 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12158 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12162 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12163 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12164 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12167 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12168 session, which is not a good idea.
12172 @node Indirect Functions
12173 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12174 @cindex indirect connection functions
12176 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12177 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @sc{nntp} server.
12178 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12179 the "via" family of connection: they're all prefixed with "via" to make
12180 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12181 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12184 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12185 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12186 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12187 to the real @sc{nntp} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12188 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12190 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12193 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12194 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12195 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12196 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12198 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12199 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12200 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12201 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12202 @samp{ssh} for `nntp-via-rlogin-command', you may set this to
12203 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12204 this to @samp{("-t")} or @samp{("-C" "-t")} if the telnet command
12205 requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate host.
12208 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12209 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12210 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12211 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12213 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12216 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12217 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12218 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12221 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12222 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12223 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12224 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12226 @item nntp-via-user-password
12227 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12228 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12230 @item nntp-via-envuser
12231 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12232 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12233 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12234 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12236 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12237 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12238 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12239 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12246 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12251 @item nntp-via-user-name
12252 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12253 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12255 @item nntp-via-address
12256 @vindex nntp-via-address
12257 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12262 @node Common Variables
12263 @subsubsection Common Variables
12265 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12266 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12271 @item nntp-pre-command
12272 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12273 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native connection
12274 function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream} and
12275 @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is where you would put a @samp{SOCKS}
12276 wrapper for instance.
12279 @vindex nntp-address
12280 The address of the @sc{nntp} server.
12282 @item nntp-port-number
12283 @vindex nntp-port-number
12284 Port number to connect to the @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{nntp}.
12285 If you use @sc{nntp} over @sc{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12286 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews}), because
12287 external SSL tools may not work with named ports.
12289 @item nntp-end-of-line
12290 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12291 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
12292 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12293 using a non native connection function.
12295 @item nntp-telnet-command
12296 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12297 Command to use when connecting to the @sc{nntp} server through
12298 @samp{telnet}. This is NOT for an intermediate host. This is just for
12299 the real @sc{nntp} server. The default is @samp{telnet}.
12301 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12302 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12303 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12310 @subsection News Spool
12314 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12315 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12316 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12319 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12320 anything else) as the address.
12322 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12323 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12324 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12325 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12329 @item nnspool-inews-program
12330 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12331 Program used to post an article.
12333 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12334 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12335 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12337 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12338 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12339 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12340 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12342 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12343 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12344 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
12345 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12347 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12348 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12349 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12351 @item nnspool-active-file
12352 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12353 The path to the active file.
12355 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12356 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12357 The path to the group descriptions file.
12359 @item nnspool-history-file
12360 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12361 The path to the news history file.
12363 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12364 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12365 The path to the active date file.
12367 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12368 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12369 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
12372 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12373 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12375 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12376 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
12377 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
12383 @section Getting Mail
12384 @cindex reading mail
12387 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12391 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12392 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12393 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12394 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12395 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12396 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12397 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12398 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12399 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12400 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12401 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12402 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12403 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12407 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12408 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12410 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12411 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12412 of a culture shock.
12414 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12415 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12417 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12418 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12419 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12420 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12422 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12424 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12425 deleted? How awful!
12427 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12428 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12429 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12430 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12433 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12434 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12435 they want to treat a message.
12437 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12438 via @sc{smtp}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12439 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12440 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12441 archived somewhere else.
12443 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12444 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12445 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12446 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12447 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12449 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12450 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12451 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12453 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12454 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12457 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12458 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12459 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12460 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12461 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12463 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12464 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12465 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12466 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12467 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12468 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12472 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
12473 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
12475 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
12476 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
12477 and things will happen automatically.
12479 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
12480 mail" back end), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
12483 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12486 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
12487 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
12488 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
12489 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
12490 like any other group.
12492 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
12495 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12496 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12497 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12501 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
12502 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
12503 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
12506 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
12507 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
12508 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
12511 @node Splitting Mail
12512 @subsection Splitting Mail
12513 @cindex splitting mail
12514 @cindex mail splitting
12516 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
12517 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
12518 to be split into groups.
12521 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12522 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
12523 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
12524 ("mail.other" "")))
12527 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
12528 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
12529 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
12530 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
12531 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
12532 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
12533 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
12536 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
12539 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
12540 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
12541 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
12542 mail belongs in that group.
12544 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
12545 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
12546 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
12547 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
12548 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
12549 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
12551 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
12552 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
12553 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
12554 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
12555 thinks should carry this mail message.
12557 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
12558 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
12559 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
12560 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
12562 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
12563 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
12564 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
12565 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
12566 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
12568 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
12571 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
12572 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
12573 links. If that's the case for you, set
12574 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
12575 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
12577 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
12578 @kindex nnmail-split-history
12579 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
12580 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
12581 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
12582 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
12585 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
12586 Header lines longer than the value of
12587 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
12590 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
12591 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
12592 By default the splitting codes MIME decodes headers so you can match
12593 on non-ASCII strings. The @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
12594 variable specifies the default charset for decoding. The behaviour
12595 can be turned off completely by binding
12596 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to nil, which is useful if you
12597 want to match articles based on the raw header data.
12599 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12600 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If
12601 you specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable
12602 @code{mail-sources} @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then
12603 splitting does @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
12604 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-nil value to make splitting
12605 happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on other kinds
12608 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
12609 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
12610 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
12611 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
12612 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
12613 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
12614 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
12615 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
12616 month's rent money.
12620 @subsection Mail Sources
12622 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
12623 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
12627 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
12628 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
12629 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
12633 @node Mail Source Specifiers
12634 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
12636 @cindex mail server
12639 @cindex mail source
12641 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
12642 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
12647 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
12650 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
12651 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
12652 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
12655 The following mail source types are available:
12659 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
12665 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
12666 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
12667 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
12670 An example file mail source:
12673 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
12676 Or using the default path:
12682 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
12683 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
12684 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
12687 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
12691 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
12694 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
12698 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
12701 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
12703 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
12706 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
12710 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
12711 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
12712 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. That is,
12713 there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that directory and
12714 groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool} will be put in
12715 the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix to be used instead
12716 of @code{.spool}.) Setting
12717 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil forces Gnus to
12718 scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful if you want
12719 to scan mail groups at a specified level.
12721 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
12722 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
12723 that to a non-nil value, then the normal splitting process is applied
12724 to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
12730 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
12734 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
12738 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
12739 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
12740 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
12741 predicate are considered.
12745 Script run before/after fetching mail.
12749 An example directory mail source:
12752 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
12757 Get mail from a POP server.
12763 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
12764 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12767 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
12768 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
12769 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
12770 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
12771 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
12774 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
12778 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
12782 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This should be
12783 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
12786 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
12789 The valid format specifier characters are:
12793 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
12794 included in this string.
12797 The name of the server.
12800 The port number of the server.
12803 The user name to use.
12806 The password to use.
12809 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12810 corresponding keywords.
12813 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12814 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12817 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
12818 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
12821 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
12822 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
12825 @item :authentication
12826 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
12827 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
12832 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
12833 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
12835 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
12836 default user name, and default fetcher:
12842 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
12845 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
12846 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
12849 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
12852 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
12856 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
12857 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
12858 contains exactly one mail.
12864 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
12865 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
12868 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
12869 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
12871 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
12872 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
12873 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
12876 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
12877 from locking problems).
12881 Two example maildir mail sources:
12884 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
12885 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
12889 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
12894 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap}
12895 as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for
12896 some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server
12897 and fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for
12900 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, SSL/TLS and STARTTLS support you
12901 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
12907 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
12908 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
12911 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
12912 @samp{993} for SSL/TLS connections.
12915 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
12919 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
12923 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
12924 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
12925 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{ssl},
12926 @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
12928 @item :authentication
12929 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
12930 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
12931 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
12932 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
12935 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
12936 mapped into the `imap-shell-program' variable. This should be a
12937 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
12943 The valid format specifier characters are:
12947 The name of the server.
12950 User name from `imap-default-user'.
12953 The port number of the server.
12956 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
12957 corresponding keywords.
12960 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
12961 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
12964 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
12965 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
12966 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
12967 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
12968 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
12969 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
12972 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
12973 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
12974 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
12975 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
12978 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
12979 after finishing the fetch.
12983 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
12986 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
12988 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
12992 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
12993 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
12994 @uref{mail.yahoo..com}.
12996 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
12997 required for url "4.0pre.46".
12999 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13005 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13006 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13009 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13013 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13017 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
13018 folder after finishing the fetch.
13022 An example webmail source:
13025 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13027 :password "secret")
13032 @item Common Keywords
13033 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13039 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
13040 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
13044 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13049 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13050 useful when you use local mail and news.
13055 @subsubsection Function Interface
13057 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13058 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13059 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13060 consider the following mail-source setting:
13063 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13064 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13067 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13068 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13069 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13070 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13071 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13073 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13076 @node Mail Source Customization
13077 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13079 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13080 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13084 @item mail-source-crash-box
13085 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13086 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
13087 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13089 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13090 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13091 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
13093 @item mail-source-directory
13094 @vindex mail-source-directory
13095 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13096 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13097 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13100 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13101 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13102 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13103 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13104 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13105 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13107 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13108 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13109 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13111 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13112 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13113 If non-nil, name of program for fetching new mail. If nil,
13114 @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13119 @node Fetching Mail
13120 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13122 @vindex mail-sources
13123 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13124 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13125 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13126 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13128 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13129 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13132 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
13133 mail server, you'd say something like:
13138 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13139 :password "secret")))
13142 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13146 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13147 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13150 :password "secret")))
13154 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13155 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13156 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13157 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13158 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13159 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13163 @node Mail Back End Variables
13164 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13166 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13170 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13171 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13172 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13173 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13175 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13176 @item nnmail-split-hook
13177 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
13178 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13179 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13180 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13181 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13182 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13183 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13184 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13185 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13188 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13189 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13190 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13191 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13192 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13193 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13194 starting to handle the new mail) and
13195 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13196 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13197 default file modes the new mail files get:
13200 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13201 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13203 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13204 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13207 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13208 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13209 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13210 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13211 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13212 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13213 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13215 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13216 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13217 @findex delete-file
13218 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13220 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13221 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13222 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13223 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13224 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13226 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13227 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13228 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13229 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13230 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13232 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13233 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13234 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13239 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13240 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13241 @cindex mail splitting
13242 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13244 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13245 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13246 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13247 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13248 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13249 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13251 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13254 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
13255 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
13256 ;; from real errors.
13257 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13259 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
13260 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
13261 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
13262 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13263 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13264 ;; Other mailing lists...
13265 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13266 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13267 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
13268 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
13269 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
13270 ;; message was really cross-posted.
13271 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13272 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13274 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13275 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
13279 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13280 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13281 the five possible split syntaxes:
13286 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13287 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13291 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13292 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13293 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13294 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13295 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13296 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13297 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13298 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13301 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13302 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13303 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13304 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13307 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13308 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13311 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13312 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13315 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13316 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13317 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13318 function should return a @var{split}.
13321 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13322 body of the messages:
13325 (defun split-on-body ()
13327 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13328 (goto-char (point-min))
13329 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13333 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13334 when the @code{:} function is run.
13337 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13338 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
13339 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
13343 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13347 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13348 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13349 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13350 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13351 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13353 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13354 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
13355 are expanded as specified by the variable
13356 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13357 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13360 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13361 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13362 when all this splitting is performed.
13364 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13365 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13366 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13369 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13372 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13373 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13375 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13376 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13377 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13378 groupings 1 through 9.
13380 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13381 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13382 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13383 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13384 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13385 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13386 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13387 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13388 it once per thread.
13390 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} and
13391 @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-nil value. And then
13392 you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon
13395 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; or 'delete
13396 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13398 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13399 ;; other splits go here
13403 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13404 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
13405 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
13406 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
13407 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
13408 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
13409 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
13410 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
13411 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name
13412 unless the group name matches the regexp
13413 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is recommended
13414 that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a somewhat higher
13415 number than the default so that the message ids are still in the cache.
13416 (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300 kBytes in size.)
13417 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13418 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13419 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13420 messages goes into the new group.
13422 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13423 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13424 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13425 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13426 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13430 @node Group Mail Splitting
13431 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13432 @cindex mail splitting
13433 @cindex group mail splitting
13435 @findex gnus-group-split
13436 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13437 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13438 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13439 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13440 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13441 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13442 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13443 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13445 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13446 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13447 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13448 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13450 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13451 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
13452 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
13453 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
13454 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
13455 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
13456 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
13458 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
13459 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
13460 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
13461 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
13462 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
13463 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
13464 @code{gnus-group-split}.
13466 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
13467 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
13468 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
13469 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
13470 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
13471 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
13472 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
13473 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
13474 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
13475 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
13476 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
13477 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
13478 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
13480 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
13485 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
13486 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
13488 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
13489 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
13490 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
13491 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
13493 ((split-spec . catch-all))
13496 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
13497 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
13498 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
13501 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
13502 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
13503 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
13507 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
13508 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
13509 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
13513 (: gnus-group-split-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
13516 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
13517 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
13518 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
13519 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
13520 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
13521 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
13522 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
13523 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
13524 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
13526 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
13527 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
13528 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
13529 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
13530 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
13531 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
13532 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
13533 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
13534 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
13536 @findex gnus-group-split-update
13537 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
13538 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
13539 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
13540 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
13541 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
13544 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
13547 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
13548 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
13549 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
13550 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
13551 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
13554 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
13555 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
13556 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
13557 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
13559 @node Incorporating Old Mail
13560 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
13561 @cindex incorporating old mail
13562 @cindex import old mail
13564 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
13565 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
13566 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
13569 Doing so can be quite easy.
13571 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
13572 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
13573 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
13574 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
13575 your @code{nnml} groups.
13581 Go to the group buffer.
13584 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
13585 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13588 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
13591 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
13592 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13595 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
13596 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
13599 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
13600 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
13601 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
13602 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
13603 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
13605 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
13606 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
13607 using the new mail back end.
13610 @node Expiring Mail
13611 @subsection Expiring Mail
13612 @cindex article expiry
13614 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
13615 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
13616 different approach to mail reading.
13618 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
13619 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
13620 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
13621 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
13622 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
13623 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
13626 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
13627 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
13628 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
13629 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
13630 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
13631 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
13632 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
13633 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
13635 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13636 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
13637 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
13638 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
13639 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
13640 column in the summary buffer.
13642 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
13643 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
13644 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
13645 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
13648 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
13650 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
13651 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
13652 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
13655 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
13656 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
13657 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
13658 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
13659 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
13661 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
13662 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
13665 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
13666 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
13669 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
13670 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
13672 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
13673 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
13674 don't really mix very well.
13676 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
13677 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
13678 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
13679 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
13682 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
13683 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
13684 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
13685 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
13688 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13690 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
13692 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
13694 ((string= group "mail.junk")
13696 ((string= group "important")
13702 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
13703 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
13705 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
13706 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
13707 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
13710 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
13711 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
13713 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
13714 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
13715 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
13716 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
13717 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
13718 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
13719 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
13720 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
13721 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
13722 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
13723 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
13724 from as its parameter) which should return a target -- either a group
13725 name or @code{delete}.
13727 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
13729 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
13732 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13733 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13734 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
13735 expire mail to groups according to the variable
13736 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
13739 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
13740 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
13741 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
13742 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
13743 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
13746 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
13747 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
13748 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
13749 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
13750 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
13751 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
13753 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
13754 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
13755 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
13756 easier for procmail users.
13758 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
13759 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
13760 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
13761 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
13762 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
13763 caution. Even more dangerous is the
13764 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
13765 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
13766 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
13767 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
13768 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
13769 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
13770 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
13773 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
13775 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
13776 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
13777 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
13778 auto-expire turned on.
13782 @subsection Washing Mail
13783 @cindex mail washing
13784 @cindex list server brain damage
13785 @cindex incoming mail treatment
13787 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
13788 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
13789 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
13790 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
13791 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
13792 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
13794 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
13795 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
13796 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
13799 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
13800 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
13801 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
13802 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
13805 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13806 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
13807 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
13808 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
13809 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
13812 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13813 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
13814 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
13815 Emacs running on MS machines.
13819 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13820 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
13821 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
13822 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
13825 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13826 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
13827 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
13828 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
13830 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
13831 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
13832 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
13833 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
13834 into a feature by documenting it.)
13836 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13837 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
13838 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
13839 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
13840 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
13841 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
13842 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
13845 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
13846 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
13849 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
13850 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
13853 This can also be done non-destructively with
13854 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
13856 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
13857 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
13858 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
13860 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13861 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
13863 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
13864 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
13865 @code{References} headers.
13869 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13870 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
13871 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
13875 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
13876 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
13877 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
13884 @subsection Duplicates
13886 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
13887 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
13888 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
13889 @cindex duplicate mails
13890 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
13891 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
13892 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
13893 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
13894 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
13895 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
13896 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
13897 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
13898 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
13899 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
13900 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
13901 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
13902 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
13904 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
13905 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
13906 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
13907 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
13909 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
13912 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
13913 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
13917 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
13918 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
13919 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
13920 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
13921 (any mail "mail.misc")
13928 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13929 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
13934 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
13935 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
13936 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
13937 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
13938 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
13941 @node Not Reading Mail
13942 @subsection Not Reading Mail
13944 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
13945 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
13946 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
13948 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
13949 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
13950 mail, which should help.
13952 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
13953 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
13954 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
13955 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
13956 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
13957 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
13958 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
13959 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
13960 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
13961 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
13962 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
13964 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
13965 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
13969 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
13970 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
13972 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
13973 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
13974 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
13976 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
13977 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
13978 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
13979 Spool}). You might notice that only five back ends are listed below;
13980 @code{nnmaildir}'s documentation has not yet been completely
13981 incorporated into this manual. Until it is, you can find it at
13982 @uref{http://multivac.cwru.edu./nnmaildir/}.
13985 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
13986 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
13987 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
13988 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
13989 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
13990 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
13994 @node Unix Mail Box
13995 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
13997 @cindex unix mail box
13999 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14000 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14001 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14002 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14003 which group it belongs in.
14005 Virtual server settings:
14008 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14009 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14010 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14013 @item nnmbox-active-file
14014 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14015 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14016 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14018 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14019 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14020 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14021 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14026 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14030 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14031 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14032 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
14033 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14034 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14036 Virtual server settings:
14039 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14040 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14041 The name of the rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14043 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14044 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14045 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14046 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14048 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14049 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14050 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14056 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14058 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
14060 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14061 format. It should be used with some caution.
14063 @vindex nnml-directory
14064 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14065 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14066 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14067 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14069 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14072 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14073 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14074 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14075 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14076 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14077 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14078 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14079 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14081 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14082 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14083 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14084 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14086 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14088 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14089 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14090 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14091 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14092 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14093 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14094 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14095 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14098 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14099 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14100 them next time it starts.
14102 Virtual server settings:
14105 @item nnml-directory
14106 @vindex nnml-directory
14107 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
14108 The default is the value of `message-directory' (whose default value is
14111 @item nnml-active-file
14112 @vindex nnml-active-file
14113 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14114 @file{~/Mail/active"}.
14116 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14117 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14118 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14119 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}.
14121 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14122 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14123 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14126 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14127 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14128 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14129 default is @code{nil}.
14131 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14132 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14133 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14135 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14136 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14137 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14139 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14140 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14141 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14142 default is @code{nil}.
14144 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14145 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14146 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14148 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14149 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14150 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14155 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14156 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
14157 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14158 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14159 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14160 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14161 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14166 @subsubsection MH Spool
14168 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14170 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14171 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14172 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14173 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14175 Virtual server settings:
14178 @item nnmh-directory
14179 @vindex nnmh-directory
14180 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14181 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14184 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14185 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14186 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14190 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14191 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14192 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14193 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14194 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14195 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14196 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14201 @subsubsection Mail Folders
14203 @cindex mbox folders
14204 @cindex mail folders
14206 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
14207 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
14208 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
14211 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
14213 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
14214 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14215 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14216 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
14217 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
14218 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
14219 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
14220 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
14221 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
14222 @code{nnfolder} directory).
14224 Virtual server settings:
14227 @item nnfolder-directory
14228 @vindex nnfolder-directory
14229 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
14230 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14233 @item nnfolder-active-file
14234 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
14235 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
14237 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14238 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
14239 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14240 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups"}
14242 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
14243 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14244 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
14247 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14248 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
14249 @cindex backup files
14250 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
14251 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
14252 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
14253 your @file{.emacs} file:
14256 (defun turn-off-backup ()
14257 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
14259 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
14262 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14263 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
14264 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
14265 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
14266 extract some information from it before removing it.
14268 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14269 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
14270 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{nov} files. The
14271 default is @code{nil}.
14273 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14274 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
14275 The extension for @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
14277 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
14278 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
14279 The directory where the @sc{nov} files should be stored. If nil,
14280 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14282 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14283 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
14284 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14285 default is @code{nil}.
14287 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14288 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
14289 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
14291 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
14292 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
14293 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If nil,
14294 @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
14299 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
14300 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
14301 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
14302 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
14303 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
14304 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
14307 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
14308 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
14310 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
14311 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
14312 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
14313 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
14314 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
14316 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
14317 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
14318 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
14319 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
14320 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
14321 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
14322 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
14323 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
14326 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
14327 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
14328 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
14329 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
14334 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
14335 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
14336 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
14337 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
14338 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
14339 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
14340 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
14341 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
14342 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
14343 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
14344 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
14345 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
14346 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
14351 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
14352 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
14353 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
14354 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
14355 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
14356 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
14357 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
14358 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
14359 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
14360 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
14361 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
14362 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
14363 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
14364 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
14366 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
14367 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
14372 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
14373 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
14374 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
14375 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
14376 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
14377 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
14378 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
14379 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
14380 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
14381 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
14382 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
14383 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
14384 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
14385 provided by the active file and overviews.
14387 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
14388 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
14389 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
14390 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
14391 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
14394 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
14395 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
14400 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
14401 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
14402 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
14403 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
14404 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
14405 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
14406 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
14410 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
14411 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
14412 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
14413 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
14414 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
14415 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
14416 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
14417 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
14418 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
14420 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
14421 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
14422 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
14423 friendly mail back end all over.
14427 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
14428 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
14429 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
14430 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
14431 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
14432 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
14433 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to ReiserFS
14434 (@uref{http://www.namesys.com/}) or another non-block-structured
14437 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
14438 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
14439 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
14440 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
14441 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
14442 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
14443 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
14444 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
14445 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
14446 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will undergo
14447 treatment such as duplicate checking.
14449 An article will not necessarily keep the same number across Gnus
14450 sessions; articles are renumbered starting from 1 for each Gnus session
14451 (more precisely, each time you open the @code{nnmaildir} server). This
14452 way, you don't get gaps in your article number ranges, and when entering
14453 large groups, Gnus is likely to give a more accurate article count. The
14454 price is that @code{nnmaildir} doesn't work with the cache or agent.
14455 This will probably be changed in the future.
14457 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
14458 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
14459 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
14460 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
14461 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
14464 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses group
14465 parameters slightly different from those of other mail back ends.
14467 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
14468 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
14469 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
14470 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
14471 parameter to somthing small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
14472 would) to make it use less memory.
14474 Startup and shutdown are likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than
14475 with other back ends. Everything in between is likely to be faster,
14476 depending in part on your filesystem.
14478 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
14479 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
14484 @node Browsing the Web
14485 @section Browsing the Web
14487 @cindex browsing the web
14491 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
14492 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
14493 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
14494 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
14495 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
14496 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
14497 even know what a news group is.
14499 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
14500 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
14501 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
14502 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
14503 you mad in the end.
14505 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
14508 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
14509 interfaces to these sources.
14513 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
14514 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
14515 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
14516 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
14517 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
14518 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
14521 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
14523 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
14524 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
14525 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
14526 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
14527 though, you should be ok.
14529 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
14530 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
14531 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
14532 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
14533 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
14535 @node Archiving Mail
14536 @subsection Archiving Mail
14537 @cindex archiving mail
14538 @cindex backup of mail
14540 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
14541 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
14542 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
14543 marks is fairly simple.
14545 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
14546 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
14549 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
14550 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
14551 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
14552 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
14553 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
14554 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
14555 might interfer with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
14556 before you restore the data.
14558 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
14559 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
14560 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
14561 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
14562 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
14563 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
14564 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
14565 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
14566 is unnecessary in that case.
14569 @subsection Web Searches
14574 @cindex Usenet searches
14575 @cindex searching the Usenet
14577 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
14578 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
14579 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
14580 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
14581 searches without having to use a browser.
14583 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
14584 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
14585 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
14586 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
14587 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
14589 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
14590 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
14591 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
14592 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
14593 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
14594 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
14595 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
14596 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
14597 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
14598 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
14601 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
14602 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
14603 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
14604 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
14605 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
14606 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
14608 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
14609 to use @code{nnweb}.
14611 Virtual server variables:
14616 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
14617 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
14618 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
14621 @vindex nnweb-search
14622 The search string to feed to the search engine.
14624 @item nnweb-max-hits
14625 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
14626 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
14629 @item nnweb-type-definition
14630 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
14631 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
14632 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
14637 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
14641 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
14644 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
14647 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
14651 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
14658 @subsection Slashdot
14662 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
14663 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
14664 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
14666 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
14667 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
14670 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14671 '((nnslashdot "")))
14674 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
14675 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
14676 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
14677 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
14678 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
14681 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
14682 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14684 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
14685 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
14686 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
14687 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
14688 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
14689 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
14692 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
14695 @item nnslashdot-threaded
14696 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
14697 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
14698 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
14699 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
14700 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
14701 but much, much slower than untreaded.
14703 @item nnslashdot-login-name
14704 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
14705 The login name to use when posting.
14707 @item nnslashdot-password
14708 @vindex nnslashdot-password
14709 The password to use when posting.
14711 @item nnslashdot-directory
14712 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
14713 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
14714 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
14716 @item nnslashdot-active-url
14717 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
14718 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
14719 news articles and comments. The default is
14720 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
14722 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
14723 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
14724 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
14726 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
14728 @item nnslashdot-article-url
14729 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
14730 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
14732 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
14734 @item nnslashdot-threshold
14735 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
14736 The score threshold. The default is -1.
14738 @item nnslashdot-group-number
14739 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
14740 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
14741 updated. The default is 0.
14748 @subsection Ultimate
14750 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
14752 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
14753 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
14754 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
14755 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
14757 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
14758 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
14759 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
14760 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
14761 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
14762 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
14763 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
14765 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
14768 @item nnultimate-directory
14769 @vindex nnultimate-directory
14770 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
14771 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
14776 @subsection Web Archive
14778 @cindex Web Archive
14780 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
14781 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
14782 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
14783 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14786 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
14787 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
14788 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
14789 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
14790 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
14791 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
14792 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
14794 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
14797 @item nnwarchive-directory
14798 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
14799 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
14800 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
14802 @item nnwarchive-login
14803 @vindex nnwarchive-login
14804 The account name on the web server.
14806 @item nnwarchive-passwd
14807 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
14808 The password for your account on the web server.
14816 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
14817 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
14818 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
14821 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
14822 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
14825 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
14828 @item nnrss-directory
14829 @vindex nnrss-directory
14830 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
14831 @samp{~/News/rss/}.
14835 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
14836 the summary buffer.
14839 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
14840 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
14842 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
14844 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
14845 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
14848 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
14851 (require 'browse-url)
14853 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
14855 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
14858 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
14859 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
14861 (browse-url (cdr url))
14862 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
14864 (eval-after-load "gnus"
14865 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
14866 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
14867 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
14870 @node Customizing w3
14871 @subsection Customizing w3
14877 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
14878 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
14879 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
14881 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
14882 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
14883 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
14886 (eval-after-load "w3"
14888 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
14889 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
14890 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
14891 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
14893 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
14896 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
14897 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
14906 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
14907 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap}
14908 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
14909 specify the network address of the server.
14911 @sc{imap} has two properties. First, @sc{imap} can do everything that
14912 POP can, it can hence be viewed as a POP++. Secondly, @sc{imap} is a
14913 mail storage protocol, similar to @sc{nntp} being a news storage
14914 protocol -- however, @sc{imap} offers more features than @sc{nntp}
14915 because news is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
14917 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a POP++, use an imap entry in
14918 @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from the
14919 @sc{imap} server and store them on the local disk. This is not the
14920 usage described in this section--@xref{Mail Sources}.
14922 If you want to use @sc{imap} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
14923 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
14924 manipulate mails stored on the @sc{imap} server. This is the kind of
14925 usage explained in this section.
14927 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
14928 might look something like the following. (Note that for SSL/TLS, you
14929 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
14932 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
14933 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
14934 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
14936 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14937 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
14938 ; a UW server running on localhost
14940 (nnimap-server-port 143)
14941 (nnimap-address "localhost")
14942 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
14943 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
14944 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
14945 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
14946 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
14947 (nnimap-stream network))
14948 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
14950 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
14951 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
14952 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
14955 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
14960 @item nnimap-address
14961 @vindex nnimap-address
14963 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
14964 server name if not specified.
14966 @item nnimap-server-port
14967 @vindex nnimap-server-port
14968 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
14970 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
14973 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14974 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
14977 @item nnimap-list-pattern
14978 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
14979 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
14980 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
14981 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
14982 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
14983 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
14985 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
14986 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
14987 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
14990 Example server specification:
14993 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
14994 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
14995 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
14998 @item nnimap-stream
14999 @vindex nnimap-stream
15000 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15001 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15002 of SSL/TLS. (@sc{imap} over SSL/TLS is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15003 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15005 Example server specification:
15008 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15009 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15012 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15016 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15017 @samp{imtest} program.
15019 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15021 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15022 SSL). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15025 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15026 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}) as well as the external
15027 library @samp{ssl.el}.
15029 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @sc{imap} connection.
15031 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15034 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15035 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15036 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15037 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15038 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15039 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15040 restrictions on @sc{imap} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15041 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15042 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15045 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15046 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15047 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15048 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of
15049 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15050 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15051 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15052 to OpenSSL/SSLeay. You also need @samp{ssl.el} (from the W3
15053 distribution, for instance).
15055 @vindex imap-shell-program
15056 @vindex imap-shell-host
15057 For @sc{imap} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15058 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15060 @item nnimap-authenticator
15061 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15063 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15064 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15066 Example server specification:
15069 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15070 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15073 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15077 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15078 external program @code{imtest}.
15080 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15083 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15084 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15086 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15088 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15090 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
15093 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15095 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15096 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
15097 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
15098 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15099 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15100 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15103 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15104 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15105 running in circles yet?
15107 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15108 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15111 The possible options are:
15116 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
15119 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15120 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
15121 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15122 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15124 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15129 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15130 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15132 If non-nil (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as well),
15133 for other @sc{imap} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15134 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15135 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @sc{imap}
15136 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @sc{imap}
15139 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15140 enable per-user persistant dormant flags, using something like:
15143 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15144 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15145 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15146 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15149 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15150 as ticked for other users.
15152 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
15154 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
15156 This variable contain the @sc{imap} search command sent to server when
15157 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
15158 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
15159 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
15161 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
15162 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
15163 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
15164 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
15166 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
15167 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
15169 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
15170 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
15171 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
15177 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
15178 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
15179 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
15180 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use IMAP namespace in Gnus.
15185 @node Splitting in IMAP
15186 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
15187 @cindex splitting imap mail
15189 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
15190 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
15191 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
15192 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
15193 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
15197 Here are the variables of interest:
15201 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
15202 @cindex splitting, crosspost
15204 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
15206 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
15207 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
15209 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
15211 @item nnimap-split-inbox
15212 @cindex splitting, inbox
15214 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
15216 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
15217 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
15221 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
15222 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
15225 No nnmail equivalent.
15227 @item nnimap-split-rule
15228 @cindex Splitting, rules
15229 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
15231 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
15234 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
15235 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
15236 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
15237 Neither did I, we need examples.
15240 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15242 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
15243 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
15244 ("INBOX.private" "")))
15247 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
15248 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
15249 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
15251 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
15252 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
15256 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
15259 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
15260 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
15262 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
15263 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
15264 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
15265 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
15267 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
15268 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
15269 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
15270 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
15271 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
15272 them every time you fetch new mail.)
15274 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
15275 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
15276 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
15278 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
15279 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
15280 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15282 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
15284 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
15285 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
15286 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
15289 (setq nnimap-split-rule
15290 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
15291 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
15292 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
15293 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
15294 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
15297 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
15298 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
15299 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
15300 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
15301 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
15302 group/function elements.
15304 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
15306 @item nnimap-split-predicate
15308 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
15310 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
15311 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
15313 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
15314 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
15315 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
15318 @item nnimap-split-fancy
15319 @cindex splitting, fancy
15320 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
15321 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
15323 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15324 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
15325 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
15327 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
15328 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
15329 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
15330 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
15335 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
15336 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
15339 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
15343 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
15344 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
15345 @cindex editing imap acls
15346 @cindex Access Control Lists
15347 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
15349 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
15351 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
15352 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
15353 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
15356 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
15357 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
15358 editing window with detailed instructions.
15360 Some possible uses:
15364 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
15365 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
15366 follow the list without subscribing to it.
15368 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
15369 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
15370 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
15374 @node Expunging mailboxes
15375 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
15379 @cindex Manual expunging
15381 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
15383 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
15384 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
15385 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
15387 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
15390 @node A note on namespaces
15391 @subsection A note on namespaces
15392 @cindex IMAP namespace
15395 The IMAP protocol has a concept called namespaces, described by the
15396 following text in the RFC:
15399 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
15401 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
15402 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
15403 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
15404 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
15406 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
15407 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
15408 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
15409 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
15410 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
15411 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
15414 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the IMAP
15415 implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace prefixes in a way
15416 that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
15418 Specifically, University of Washington's IMAP server uses mailbox
15419 names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only in the
15420 @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is created
15421 (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed without
15422 the namespace prefix, i.e @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do not make it
15423 possible for the user to guarantee that user entered mailbox names
15424 will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands, you should
15425 simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in Gnus.
15427 See the UoW @sc{imapd} documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
15428 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
15429 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
15431 @node Other Sources
15432 @section Other Sources
15434 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
15435 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
15439 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
15440 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
15441 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
15442 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
15443 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
15447 @node Directory Groups
15448 @subsection Directory Groups
15450 @cindex directory groups
15452 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
15453 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
15456 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
15457 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
15458 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
15459 back end to read directories. Big deal.
15461 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
15462 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
15463 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
15464 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
15465 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
15467 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
15469 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
15470 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
15471 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
15472 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
15475 @node Anything Groups
15476 @subsection Anything Groups
15479 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
15480 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
15481 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
15484 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
15485 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
15486 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
15487 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
15488 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
15489 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
15490 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
15491 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
15492 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
15493 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
15496 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
15497 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
15498 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
15499 in the article buffer, just as usual.
15501 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
15502 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
15503 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
15504 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
15506 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
15507 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
15508 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
15509 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
15510 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
15511 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
15512 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
15513 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
15518 @item nneething-map-file-directory
15519 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
15520 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
15521 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
15523 @item nneething-exclude-files
15524 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
15525 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
15526 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
15528 @item nneething-include-files
15529 @vindex nneething-include-files
15530 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
15531 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
15533 @item nneething-map-file
15534 @vindex nneething-map-file
15535 Name of the map files.
15539 @node Document Groups
15540 @subsection Document Groups
15542 @cindex documentation group
15545 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
15546 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
15553 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
15558 The standard Unix mbox file.
15560 @cindex MMDF mail box
15562 The MMDF mail box format.
15565 Several news articles appended into a file.
15568 @cindex rnews batch files
15569 The rnews batch transport format.
15570 @cindex forwarded messages
15573 Forwarded articles.
15576 Netscape mail boxes.
15579 @sc{mime} multipart messages.
15581 @item standard-digest
15582 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
15585 A @sc{mime} digest of messages.
15587 @item lanl-gov-announce
15588 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
15590 @item rfc822-forward
15591 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
15594 The Outlook mail box.
15597 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
15600 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
15603 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
15606 An RFC934-forwarded message.
15612 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
15615 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
15621 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
15622 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
15623 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
15626 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
15627 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
15628 group. And that's it.
15630 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
15631 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
15632 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
15633 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
15634 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
15635 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
15636 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
15637 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
15638 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
15639 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
15641 Virtual server variables:
15644 @item nndoc-article-type
15645 @vindex nndoc-article-type
15646 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
15647 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
15648 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
15649 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
15650 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
15652 @item nndoc-post-type
15653 @vindex nndoc-post-type
15654 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
15655 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
15660 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
15664 @node Document Server Internals
15665 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
15667 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
15668 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
15669 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
15670 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
15672 First, here's an example document type definition:
15676 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
15677 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
15680 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
15681 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
15682 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
15683 types can be defined with very few settings:
15686 @item first-article
15687 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
15688 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
15691 @item article-begin
15692 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
15693 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
15695 @item head-begin-function
15696 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
15699 @item nndoc-head-begin
15700 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
15703 @item nndoc-head-end
15704 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
15705 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
15707 @item body-begin-function
15708 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
15712 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
15715 @item body-end-function
15716 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
15720 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
15723 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
15724 regexp will be totally ignored.
15728 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
15729 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
15730 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
15731 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
15732 something that's palatable for Gnus:
15735 @item prepare-body-function
15736 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
15737 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
15738 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
15740 @item article-transform-function
15741 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
15742 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
15743 body of the article.
15745 @item generate-head-function
15746 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
15747 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
15748 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
15749 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
15753 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
15758 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15759 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
15760 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
15761 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
15762 (head-end . "^ ?$")
15763 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
15764 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
15765 (subtype digest guess))
15768 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
15769 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
15770 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
15771 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
15772 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
15774 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
15775 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
15776 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
15777 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
15778 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
15779 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
15780 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
15781 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
15782 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
15783 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
15791 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
15792 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
15793 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
15795 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
15796 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
15797 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
15800 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
15801 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
15802 that interested in doing things properly.
15804 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
15805 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
15808 First some terminology:
15813 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
15814 get news and/or mail from.
15817 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
15818 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
15821 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
15825 @item message packets
15826 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
15827 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
15828 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15830 @item response packets
15831 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
15832 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
15833 default, where @var{x} is a number.
15843 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
15844 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
15845 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
15846 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
15849 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
15852 You put the packet in your home directory.
15855 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
15856 the native or secondary server.
15859 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
15860 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
15863 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
15867 You transfer this packet to the server.
15870 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
15873 You then repeat until you die.
15877 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
15878 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
15881 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
15882 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
15883 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
15887 @node SOUP Commands
15888 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
15890 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
15894 @kindex G s b (Group)
15895 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
15896 Pack all unread articles in the current group
15897 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
15898 process/prefix convention.
15901 @kindex G s w (Group)
15902 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
15903 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
15906 @kindex G s s (Group)
15907 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
15908 Send all replies from the replies packet
15909 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
15912 @kindex G s p (Group)
15913 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
15914 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
15917 @kindex G s r (Group)
15918 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
15919 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
15922 @kindex O s (Summary)
15923 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
15924 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
15925 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
15926 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15931 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
15936 @item gnus-soup-directory
15937 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
15938 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
15939 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
15941 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
15942 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
15943 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
15944 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
15946 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
15947 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
15948 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
15949 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
15951 @item gnus-soup-packer
15952 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
15953 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15954 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
15956 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
15957 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
15958 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
15959 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
15961 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
15962 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
15963 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
15965 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15966 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
15967 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
15968 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
15974 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
15977 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
15978 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
15979 you can read them at leisure.
15981 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
15985 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
15986 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
15987 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
15988 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
15990 @item nnsoup-directory
15991 @vindex nnsoup-directory
15992 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
15993 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
15995 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
15996 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
15997 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
15998 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
16000 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16001 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16002 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16003 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16004 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16006 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16007 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16008 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16009 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16011 @item nnsoup-active-file
16012 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16013 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16014 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16015 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16016 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16018 @item nnsoup-packer
16019 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16020 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16021 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16023 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16024 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16025 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16026 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16028 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16029 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16030 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16033 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16034 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16035 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16038 @item nnsoup-always-save
16039 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16040 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16046 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16048 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16049 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16050 more for that to happen.
16052 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16053 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16054 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16057 In specific, this is what it does:
16060 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16061 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16064 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16065 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16066 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16069 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16070 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16071 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16074 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16075 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16076 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16078 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16084 @item nngateway-address
16085 @vindex nngateway-address
16086 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16088 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16089 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16090 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16091 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16092 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16093 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16094 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16097 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16098 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
16099 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
16102 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
16105 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
16108 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
16111 The following pre-defined functions exist:
16113 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16116 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
16117 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16118 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
16120 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16122 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
16123 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
16124 @code{nngateway-address}.
16129 (setq gnus-post-method
16131 "mail2news@@replay.com"
16132 (nngateway-header-transformation
16133 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
16141 So, to use this, simply say something like:
16144 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
16149 @node Combined Groups
16150 @section Combined Groups
16152 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
16156 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
16157 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
16161 @node Virtual Groups
16162 @subsection Virtual Groups
16164 @cindex virtual groups
16165 @cindex merging groups
16167 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
16170 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
16171 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
16172 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
16174 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
16175 regexp to match component groups.
16177 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
16178 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
16179 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
16180 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
16181 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
16182 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
16183 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
16184 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
16186 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
16187 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
16190 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
16193 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
16194 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
16196 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
16197 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
16198 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
16199 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
16202 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
16205 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
16206 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
16207 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
16209 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
16210 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
16211 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
16212 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
16213 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
16215 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
16216 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
16217 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
16219 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
16220 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
16221 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
16222 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
16223 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
16224 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
16225 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
16226 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
16227 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
16228 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
16229 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
16231 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
16232 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
16233 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
16234 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
16235 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
16236 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
16237 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
16239 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
16240 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
16242 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
16243 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
16247 @node Kibozed Groups
16248 @subsection Kibozed Groups
16252 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
16253 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
16254 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
16255 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
16257 @kindex G k (Group)
16258 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
16261 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
16262 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
16263 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
16264 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
16266 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
16267 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
16268 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
16270 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
16271 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
16272 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
16273 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
16274 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
16275 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
16276 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
16277 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
16279 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
16280 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
16281 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
16282 Stranger things have happened.
16284 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
16285 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
16287 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
16288 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
16289 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
16290 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
16291 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
16292 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
16294 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
16295 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
16298 @node Gnus Unplugged
16299 @section Gnus Unplugged
16304 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
16306 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
16307 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
16308 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
16309 read news. Believe it or not.
16311 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
16312 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
16313 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
16314 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
16315 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
16317 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
16318 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
16319 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
16320 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
16321 reading news on a machine.
16323 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
16324 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
16326 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
16329 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
16330 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
16331 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
16332 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
16333 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
16334 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
16335 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
16336 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
16337 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
16338 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
16339 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
16344 @subsection Agent Basics
16346 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
16348 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
16349 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
16350 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
16351 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
16353 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
16354 connected to the net continuously.
16356 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
16357 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
16359 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
16364 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
16365 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
16366 already fetched while in this mode.
16369 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
16370 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
16371 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
16372 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
16373 Source Specifiers}).
16376 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
16377 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
16378 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
16379 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
16380 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
16383 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
16384 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
16385 then you read the news offline.
16388 And then you go to step 2.
16391 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
16397 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
16398 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
16399 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
16400 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
16401 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
16402 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
16403 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
16404 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
16407 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
16414 @node Agent Categories
16415 @subsection Agent Categories
16417 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
16418 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
16419 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
16420 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
16421 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
16422 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
16423 you're interested in the articles anyway.
16425 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
16426 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
16427 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
16428 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
16429 managing categories.
16432 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
16433 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
16434 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
16438 @node Category Syntax
16439 @subsubsection Category Syntax
16441 A category consists of two things.
16445 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
16446 are eligible for downloading; and
16449 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
16450 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
16451 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
16454 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
16455 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
16456 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
16457 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
16459 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
16460 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
16461 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
16463 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
16464 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
16465 operators sprinkled in between.
16467 Perhaps some examples are in order.
16469 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
16470 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
16476 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
16477 short (for some value of ``short'').
16479 Here's a more complex predicate:
16488 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
16489 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
16492 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
16493 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
16494 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
16496 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
16497 you want to do, you can write your own.
16501 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
16502 lines; default 100.
16505 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
16506 lines; default 200.
16509 True iff the article has a download score less than
16510 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
16513 True iff the article has a download score greater than
16514 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
16517 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
16518 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
16519 checksum and sees whether articles match.
16528 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
16529 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
16530 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
16533 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
16534 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
16535 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
16536 something along the lines of the following:
16539 (defun my-article-old-p ()
16540 "Say whether an article is old."
16541 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
16542 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
16545 with the predicate then defined as:
16548 (not my-article-old-p)
16551 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
16552 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
16556 (require 'gnus-agent)
16557 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
16558 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
16559 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
16562 and simply specify your predicate as:
16568 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
16569 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
16570 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
16571 just don't give a damn.
16573 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
16574 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
16575 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
16576 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
16577 parameters like so:
16580 (agent-predicate . short)
16583 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
16584 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
16585 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
16587 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
16590 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
16593 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
16594 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
16595 predicate is assumed to be a list.
16598 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
16599 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
16600 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
16601 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
16602 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
16603 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
16605 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
16606 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
16607 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
16608 if it's to be specific to that group.
16610 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
16617 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
16618 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
16624 Category specification
16628 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16634 Group Parameter specification
16637 (agent-score ("from"
16638 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
16643 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
16649 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
16656 Category specification
16659 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
16665 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
16669 Group Parameter specification
16672 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
16675 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
16680 Use @code{normal} score files
16682 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
16683 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
16684 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
16685 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
16687 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
16688 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
16689 files for a group, *filtering out* those sections that do not
16690 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
16694 Category Specification
16701 Group Parameter specification
16704 (agent-score . file)
16709 @node Category Buffer
16710 @subsubsection Category Buffer
16712 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
16713 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
16714 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
16716 The following commands are available in this buffer:
16720 @kindex q (Category)
16721 @findex gnus-category-exit
16722 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
16725 @kindex k (Category)
16726 @findex gnus-category-kill
16727 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
16730 @kindex c (Category)
16731 @findex gnus-category-copy
16732 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
16735 @kindex a (Category)
16736 @findex gnus-category-add
16737 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
16740 @kindex p (Category)
16741 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
16742 Edit the predicate of the current category
16743 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
16746 @kindex g (Category)
16747 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
16748 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
16749 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
16752 @kindex s (Category)
16753 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
16754 Edit the download score rule of the current category
16755 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
16758 @kindex l (Category)
16759 @findex gnus-category-list
16760 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
16764 @node Category Variables
16765 @subsubsection Category Variables
16768 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
16769 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
16770 Hook run in category buffers.
16772 @item gnus-category-line-format
16773 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
16774 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
16775 Variables}). Valid elements are:
16779 The name of the category.
16782 The number of groups in the category.
16785 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
16786 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
16787 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
16789 @item gnus-agent-short-article
16790 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
16791 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
16793 @item gnus-agent-long-article
16794 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
16795 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
16797 @item gnus-agent-low-score
16798 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
16799 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
16802 @item gnus-agent-high-score
16803 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
16804 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
16810 @node Agent Commands
16811 @subsection Agent Commands
16813 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
16814 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
16815 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
16819 * Group Agent Commands::
16820 * Summary Agent Commands::
16821 * Server Agent Commands::
16824 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
16825 following incantation:
16827 @cindex gnus-agent-batch
16829 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch
16834 @node Group Agent Commands
16835 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
16839 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
16840 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
16841 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
16842 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
16845 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
16846 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
16847 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
16850 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
16851 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
16852 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
16853 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
16856 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
16857 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
16858 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
16859 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
16862 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
16863 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
16864 Add the current group to an Agent category
16865 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
16866 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16869 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
16870 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
16871 Remove the current group from its category, if any
16872 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
16873 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16876 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
16877 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
16878 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
16884 @node Summary Agent Commands
16885 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
16889 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
16890 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
16891 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
16894 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
16895 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
16896 Remove the downloading mark from the article
16897 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
16900 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
16901 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
16902 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
16905 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
16906 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
16907 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
16910 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
16911 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
16912 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
16913 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
16918 @node Server Agent Commands
16919 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
16923 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
16924 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
16925 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
16926 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
16929 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
16930 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
16931 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
16932 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
16937 @node Agent as Cache
16938 @subsection Agent as Cache
16940 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
16941 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
16942 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
16943 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
16944 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
16945 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
16946 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
16947 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
16948 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
16950 This behaviour can be controlled by @code{gnus-agent-cache}
16951 (@pxref{Agent Variables}).
16954 @subsection Agent Expiry
16956 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
16957 @findex gnus-agent-expire
16958 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
16959 @cindex Agent expiry
16960 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
16963 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
16964 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
16965 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
16966 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
16967 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
16968 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
16970 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} can also be a list of regexp/day pairs.
16971 The regexps will be matched against group names to allow differing
16972 expiry in different groups.
16975 (setq gnus-agent-expire-days
16981 If you use the list form, the last element must always be the default
16982 method---it must always match all groups.
16984 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
16985 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
16986 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
16987 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
16988 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
16990 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
16991 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
16992 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's a special
16993 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} command to fix possible problems.
16995 @node Agent and IMAP
16996 @subsection Agent and IMAP
16998 The Agent work with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
16999 since there are some conceptual differences between @sc{nntp} and
17000 @sc{imap}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
17001 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @sc{imap} Disconnected Mode client.
17003 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
17004 are kept on the @sc{imap} server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
17005 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
17006 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
17008 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
17009 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
17010 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
17011 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
17013 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17014 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
17015 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
17016 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
17017 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
17018 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
17020 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
17021 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
17022 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
17023 in the group buffer.
17025 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
17026 expect from a disconnected @sc{imap} client, including:
17031 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
17034 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
17038 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
17039 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
17040 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
17041 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
17042 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
17043 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
17044 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
17045 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
17048 @node Outgoing Messages
17049 @subsection Outgoing Messages
17051 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
17052 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
17053 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
17055 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
17056 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
17057 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
17058 messages in the draft group.
17062 @node Agent Variables
17063 @subsection Agent Variables
17066 @item gnus-agent-directory
17067 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
17068 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
17069 @file{~/News/agent/}.
17071 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
17072 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
17073 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
17074 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
17075 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
17078 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17079 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
17080 Hook run when connecting to the network.
17082 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17083 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
17084 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
17086 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17087 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
17088 Hook run when after finishing fetching articles.
17090 @item gnus-agent-cache
17091 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
17092 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @sc{nov} and
17093 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
17094 The default is non-nil, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
17096 @item gnus-agent-go-online
17097 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
17098 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
17099 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
17100 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
17101 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
17102 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
17105 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
17106 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
17107 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
17108 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
17109 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
17110 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
17111 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
17112 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
17113 is only valid if the Agent is used.
17118 @node Example Setup
17119 @subsection Example Setup
17121 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
17122 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
17123 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
17126 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
17127 ;;; from your ISP's server.
17128 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
17130 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
17131 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
17132 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
17134 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
17135 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
17137 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
17138 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; The obsolete setting.
17139 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; Now the default.
17142 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
17143 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
17146 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
17147 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
17148 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
17149 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
17150 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
17153 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
17154 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
17155 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
17156 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
17157 back all the killed groups.)
17159 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
17160 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
17161 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
17164 @node Batching Agents
17165 @subsection Batching Agents
17167 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
17168 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
17169 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
17173 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
17177 @node Agent Caveats
17178 @subsection Agent Caveats
17180 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
17181 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
17185 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
17189 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
17191 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is `nil'.
17195 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
17196 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP and also uses the
17197 locally stored articles.
17204 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
17205 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
17206 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
17209 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
17210 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
17211 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
17212 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
17213 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
17215 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
17216 before generating the summary buffer.
17218 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
17219 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
17220 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
17222 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
17223 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
17224 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
17225 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
17228 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
17229 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
17230 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
17231 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
17232 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
17233 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
17234 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
17235 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
17236 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
17237 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
17238 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
17239 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
17240 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
17241 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
17242 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
17243 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
17244 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
17248 @node Summary Score Commands
17249 @section Summary Score Commands
17250 @cindex score commands
17252 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
17253 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
17254 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
17255 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
17256 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
17258 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
17259 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
17260 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
17261 score file the current one.
17263 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
17268 @kindex V s (Summary)
17269 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
17270 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
17273 @kindex V S (Summary)
17274 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
17275 Display the score of the current article
17276 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
17279 @kindex V t (Summary)
17280 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
17281 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
17282 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
17285 @kindex V w (Summary)
17286 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
17287 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
17290 @kindex V R (Summary)
17291 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
17292 Run the current summary through the scoring process
17293 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
17294 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
17295 effect you're having.
17298 @kindex V c (Summary)
17299 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
17300 Make a different score file the current
17301 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
17304 @kindex V e (Summary)
17305 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
17306 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
17307 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
17311 @kindex V f (Summary)
17312 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
17313 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
17314 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
17317 @kindex V F (Summary)
17318 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17319 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
17320 after editing score files.
17323 @kindex V C (Summary)
17324 @findex gnus-score-customize
17325 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
17326 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
17330 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
17335 @kindex V m (Summary)
17336 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
17337 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
17338 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
17341 @kindex V x (Summary)
17342 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
17343 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
17344 expunge all articles below this score
17345 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
17348 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
17349 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
17352 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
17353 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
17357 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
17358 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
17360 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
17361 keys are available:
17365 Score on the author name.
17368 Score on the subject line.
17371 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
17374 Score on the @code{References} line.
17380 Score on the number of lines.
17383 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
17386 Score on an "extra" header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
17387 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
17390 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
17391 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
17392 @file{ADAPT} files.)
17401 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
17407 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
17408 what headers you are scoring on.
17420 Substring matching.
17423 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
17452 Greater than number.
17457 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
17458 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
17459 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
17464 Temporary score entry.
17467 Permanent score entry.
17470 Immediately scoring.
17474 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
17475 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
17476 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
17480 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
17481 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
17482 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
17483 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
17485 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
17486 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
17487 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
17488 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
17489 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
17491 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
17492 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
17493 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
17494 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
17495 current score file.
17497 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
17498 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
17499 pretend they are keymaps or not.
17502 @node Group Score Commands
17503 @section Group Score Commands
17504 @cindex group score commands
17506 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
17511 @kindex W f (Group)
17512 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
17513 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
17514 all the time. This command will flush the cache
17515 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
17519 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
17521 @findex gnus-batch-score
17522 @cindex batch scoring
17524 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
17528 @node Score Variables
17529 @section Score Variables
17530 @cindex score variables
17534 @item gnus-use-scoring
17535 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
17536 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
17537 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
17539 @item gnus-kill-killed
17540 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
17541 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
17542 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
17543 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
17544 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
17545 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
17546 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
17548 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
17549 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
17550 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
17551 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
17552 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
17554 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
17555 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
17556 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
17557 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
17559 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17560 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
17561 @cindex score cache
17562 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
17563 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
17564 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
17565 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
17566 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
17567 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
17570 @item gnus-save-score
17571 @vindex gnus-save-score
17572 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
17573 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
17574 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17576 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
17577 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
17578 across group visits.
17580 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17581 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
17582 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
17583 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
17584 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
17585 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
17586 manually entered data.
17588 @item gnus-summary-default-score
17589 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
17590 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
17592 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
17593 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
17594 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
17595 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
17596 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
17597 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
17599 @item gnus-score-over-mark
17600 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
17601 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
17602 default. Default is @samp{+}.
17604 @item gnus-score-below-mark
17605 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
17606 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
17607 default. Default is @samp{-}.
17609 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17610 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
17611 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
17612 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
17614 Predefined functions available are:
17617 @item gnus-score-find-single
17618 @findex gnus-score-find-single
17619 Only apply the group's own score file.
17621 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
17622 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
17623 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
17624 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
17625 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
17626 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
17627 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
17628 then a regexp match is done.
17630 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
17631 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
17633 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
17634 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
17635 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
17636 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
17638 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17639 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
17640 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
17641 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
17642 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
17646 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
17647 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
17648 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
17649 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
17650 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
17651 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
17652 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
17655 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
17656 overall score file, you could use the value
17658 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
17659 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
17662 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
17663 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
17664 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
17665 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
17666 are expired. It's 7 by default.
17668 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17669 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
17670 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
17671 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
17672 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
17673 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
17674 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
17675 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
17677 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17678 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
17679 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
17681 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
17682 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
17683 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
17684 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
17685 threading---according to the current value of
17686 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
17687 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
17688 simplified in this manner.
17693 @node Score File Format
17694 @section Score File Format
17695 @cindex score file format
17697 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
17698 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
17699 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
17701 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
17705 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
17707 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
17709 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
17711 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
17716 (mark-and-expunge -10)
17720 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
17721 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
17722 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
17723 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
17727 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
17728 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
17730 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
17731 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
17732 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
17734 Six keys are supported by this alist:
17739 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
17740 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
17741 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
17742 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
17743 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
17744 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
17745 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
17746 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
17747 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
17748 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
17749 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
17750 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
17751 to articles that matches these score entries.
17753 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
17754 score entry has one to four elements.
17758 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
17759 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
17763 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
17764 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
17765 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
17766 is successful. If this element is not present, the
17767 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
17768 instead. This is 1000 by default.
17771 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
17772 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
17773 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
17774 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
17775 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
17778 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
17779 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
17780 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
17781 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
17784 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
17785 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
17786 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
17787 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
17788 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
17789 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
17790 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
17791 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
17792 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
17793 instead, if you feel like.
17796 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
17797 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
17798 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
17799 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
17800 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
17801 if your @sc{nntp} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
17804 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
17808 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
17809 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
17811 These predicates are true if
17814 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
17817 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
17818 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
17825 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
17826 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
17827 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
17828 it's not. I think.)
17830 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
17831 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
17832 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
17833 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
17836 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
17837 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
17838 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
17839 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
17840 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
17841 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
17842 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
17846 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
17847 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
17848 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
17849 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
17850 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
17851 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
17852 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
17853 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
17856 @item Head, Body, All
17857 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
17861 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
17862 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
17863 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
17864 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
17865 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
17866 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
17867 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
17871 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
17872 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
17873 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
17874 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
17875 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
17876 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
17877 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
17878 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
17879 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
17880 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
17881 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
17885 @cindex Score File Atoms
17887 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17888 lower than this number will be marked as read.
17891 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17892 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
17894 @item mark-and-expunge
17895 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
17896 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
17899 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
17900 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
17901 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
17902 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
17903 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
17906 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
17907 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
17910 @item exclude-files
17911 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
17912 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
17916 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
17917 ignored when handling global score files.
17920 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
17921 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
17922 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
17923 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
17926 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
17927 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
17928 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
17929 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
17931 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
17935 (mark-and-expunge -100)
17938 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
17939 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
17940 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
17941 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
17942 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
17944 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
17945 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
17946 scoring rules exist.
17949 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
17950 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
17951 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
17952 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
17953 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
17954 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
17955 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
17956 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
17957 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
17958 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
17959 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
17963 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
17964 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
17965 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
17966 file for a number of groups.
17969 @cindex local variables
17970 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
17971 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
17972 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
17973 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
17974 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
17978 @node Score File Editing
17979 @section Score File Editing
17981 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
17982 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
17983 with a mode for that.
17985 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
17986 additional commands:
17991 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
17992 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
17993 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
17994 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
17997 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
17998 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
17999 Insert the current date in numerical format
18000 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
18001 you were wondering.
18004 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
18005 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
18006 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
18007 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
18008 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
18013 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
18015 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
18016 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
18018 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
18019 e} to begin editing score files.
18022 @node Adaptive Scoring
18023 @section Adaptive Scoring
18024 @cindex adaptive scoring
18026 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
18027 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
18028 stupidity, to be precise.
18030 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
18031 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
18032 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
18033 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
18034 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
18035 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
18036 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
18037 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
18038 variable to @code{(word line)}.
18040 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18041 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
18042 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
18043 might look something like this:
18046 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
18047 '((gnus-unread-mark)
18048 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
18049 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
18050 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
18051 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
18052 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
18053 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
18054 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
18055 (gnus-ancient-mark)
18056 (gnus-low-score-mark)
18057 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
18060 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
18061 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
18062 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
18063 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
18064 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
18065 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
18068 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
18069 will be applied to each article.
18071 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
18072 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
18073 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
18074 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
18076 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
18077 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
18078 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
18079 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
18081 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
18082 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
18083 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
18084 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
18086 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
18087 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
18088 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
18089 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
18090 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
18091 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
18093 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
18094 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
18095 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
18096 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
18097 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
18098 aspirins afterwards.)
18100 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
18101 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
18102 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
18104 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
18105 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
18106 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
18108 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
18109 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
18110 let you use different rules in different groups.
18112 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
18113 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
18114 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
18117 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
18118 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
18119 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
18120 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
18121 the length of the match is less than
18122 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
18123 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
18126 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18127 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
18128 headers. If you adapt on words, the
18129 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
18130 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
18133 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
18134 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
18135 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
18136 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
18137 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
18140 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
18141 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
18142 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
18143 score with 30 points.
18145 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
18146 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
18147 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
18148 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
18149 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
18151 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
18152 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
18153 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
18154 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
18155 variable defaults til @code{nil}.
18157 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
18158 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
18159 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
18160 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
18162 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
18163 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
18164 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
18165 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
18167 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
18168 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
18169 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
18170 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
18171 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
18173 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
18174 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
18175 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
18177 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
18178 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
18179 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
18180 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
18183 @node Home Score File
18184 @section Home Score File
18186 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
18187 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
18188 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
18189 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
18191 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
18192 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
18193 could perhaps use the same home score file.
18195 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
18196 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
18201 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
18205 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
18206 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
18210 A list. The elements in this list can be:
18214 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
18215 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
18218 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
18219 the home score file.
18222 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
18225 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
18230 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
18233 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18234 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
18237 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
18238 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
18240 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
18242 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18243 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
18246 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
18247 Other functions include
18250 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
18251 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
18252 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
18253 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
18257 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
18258 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
18259 their own home score files:
18262 (setq gnus-home-score-file
18263 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
18264 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
18265 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
18266 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
18269 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
18270 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
18271 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
18272 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
18273 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
18275 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
18276 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
18277 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
18278 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
18279 precedence over this variable.
18282 @node Followups To Yourself
18283 @section Followups To Yourself
18285 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
18286 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
18287 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
18288 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
18289 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
18290 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
18294 @item gnus-score-followup-article
18295 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
18296 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
18299 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
18300 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
18301 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
18305 @vindex message-sent-hook
18306 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
18307 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
18309 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
18313 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
18314 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
18318 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18319 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
18322 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
18323 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
18328 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
18332 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
18333 is system-dependent.
18336 @node Scoring On Other Headers
18337 @section Scoring On Other Headers
18338 @cindex scoring on other headers
18340 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
18341 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
18342 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
18343 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
18344 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
18346 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
18347 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
18348 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
18349 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
18350 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
18352 Put the following in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18355 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
18356 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
18359 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
18360 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
18361 time if you have much mail.
18363 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
18364 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
18370 @section Scoring Tips
18371 @cindex scoring tips
18377 @cindex scoring crossposts
18378 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
18379 the @code{Xref} header.
18381 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
18384 @item Multiple crossposts
18385 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
18386 more than, say, 3 groups:
18389 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
18393 @item Matching on the body
18394 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
18395 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
18396 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
18397 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
18398 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
18399 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
18400 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
18403 @item Marking as read
18404 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
18405 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
18406 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
18410 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
18412 @item Negated character classes
18413 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
18414 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
18415 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
18419 @node Reverse Scoring
18420 @section Reverse Scoring
18421 @cindex reverse scoring
18423 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
18424 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
18425 like this in your score file:
18429 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
18434 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
18435 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
18438 @node Global Score Files
18439 @section Global Score Files
18440 @cindex global score files
18442 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
18443 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
18444 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
18446 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
18447 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
18448 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
18450 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
18451 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
18452 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
18453 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
18454 files are applicable to which group.
18456 To use the score file
18457 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
18458 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
18462 (setq gnus-global-score-files
18463 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
18464 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
18467 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
18469 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
18470 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
18471 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
18472 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
18474 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
18475 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
18477 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
18478 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
18479 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
18480 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
18481 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
18482 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
18484 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
18490 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
18492 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
18494 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
18496 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
18497 lowered out of existence.
18499 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
18500 articles completely.
18503 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
18504 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
18505 old articles for a long time.
18508 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
18509 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
18510 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
18511 holding our breath yet?
18515 @section Kill Files
18518 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
18519 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
18520 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
18522 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
18523 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
18524 files into score files.
18526 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
18527 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
18528 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
18529 that isn't a very good idea.
18531 Normal kill files look like this:
18534 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18535 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
18539 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
18540 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
18542 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
18543 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
18546 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
18551 @kindex M-k (Summary)
18552 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
18553 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
18556 @kindex M-K (Summary)
18557 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
18558 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
18561 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
18566 @kindex M-k (Group)
18567 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
18568 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
18571 @kindex M-K (Group)
18572 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
18573 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
18576 Kill file variables:
18579 @item gnus-kill-file-name
18580 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
18581 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
18582 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
18583 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
18584 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
18585 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
18587 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18588 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
18589 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
18590 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
18593 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
18594 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
18595 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
18596 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
18597 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
18598 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
18599 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
18600 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
18601 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
18603 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18604 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
18605 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
18610 @node Converting Kill Files
18611 @section Converting Kill Files
18613 @cindex converting kill files
18615 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
18616 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
18617 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
18620 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
18621 You can fetch it from
18622 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
18624 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
18625 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
18626 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
18634 GroupLens (@uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/}) is a
18635 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
18636 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
18637 news articles generated every day.
18639 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
18640 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
18641 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
18642 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
18643 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
18644 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
18645 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
18646 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
18649 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
18650 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
18653 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
18654 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
18655 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
18656 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
18660 @node Using GroupLens
18661 @subsection Using GroupLens
18663 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
18665 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
18666 better bit in town at the moment.
18668 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
18672 @item gnus-use-grouplens
18673 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
18674 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
18675 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
18677 @item grouplens-pseudonym
18678 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
18679 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
18680 with the Better Bit Bureau.
18682 @item grouplens-newsgroups
18683 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
18684 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
18688 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
18689 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
18690 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
18691 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
18692 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
18693 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
18696 @node Rating Articles
18697 @subsection Rating Articles
18699 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
18700 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
18701 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
18702 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
18705 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
18710 @kindex r (GroupLens)
18711 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
18712 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
18715 @kindex k (GroupLens)
18716 @findex grouplens-score-thread
18717 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
18718 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
18719 threads in rec.humor.
18723 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
18724 the score of the article you're reading.
18729 @kindex n (GroupLens)
18730 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
18731 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
18734 @kindex , (GroupLens)
18735 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
18736 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
18740 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
18741 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
18744 @node Displaying Predictions
18745 @subsection Displaying Predictions
18747 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
18748 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
18749 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
18750 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
18751 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
18753 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
18754 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
18755 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
18756 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
18757 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
18758 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
18759 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
18760 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
18761 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
18762 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
18763 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
18764 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
18765 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
18767 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
18768 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
18769 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
18770 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
18772 The following are valid values for that variable.
18775 @item prediction-spot
18776 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
18779 @item confidence-interval
18780 A numeric confidence interval.
18782 @item prediction-bar
18783 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
18785 @item confidence-bar
18786 Numerical confidence.
18788 @item confidence-spot
18789 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
18791 @item prediction-num
18792 Plain-old numeric value.
18794 @item confidence-plus-minus
18795 Prediction +/- confidence.
18800 @node GroupLens Variables
18801 @subsection GroupLens Variables
18805 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
18806 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
18807 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
18808 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
18811 @item grouplens-bbb-host
18812 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
18815 @item grouplens-bbb-port
18816 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
18818 @item grouplens-score-offset
18819 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
18820 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
18823 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
18824 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
18825 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
18830 @node Advanced Scoring
18831 @section Advanced Scoring
18833 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
18834 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
18835 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
18836 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
18837 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
18839 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
18843 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
18844 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
18845 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
18849 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
18850 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
18852 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
18853 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
18854 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
18855 non-@code{nil} value.
18857 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
18858 operator, and various match operators.
18865 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18866 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
18867 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
18872 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
18873 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
18874 then this operator will return @code{false}.
18879 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
18880 logical negation of the value of its argument.
18884 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
18885 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
18886 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
18887 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
18888 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
18889 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
18890 the ancestry you want to go.
18892 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
18893 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
18894 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
18895 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
18896 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
18899 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
18900 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
18902 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
18903 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
18906 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
18907 when he's talking about Gnus:
18911 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18912 ("subject" "Gnus"))
18918 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
18922 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18929 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
18930 really don't want to read what he's written:
18934 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
18935 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
18939 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
18940 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
18941 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
18948 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
18949 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
18950 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
18951 ("body" "white.*socks"))
18955 The possibilities are endless.
18958 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
18959 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
18961 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
18962 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
18963 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
18964 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
18965 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
18966 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
18967 @samp{subject}) first.
18969 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
18970 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
18981 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
18982 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
18988 ("subject" "Gnus")))
18995 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
18996 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
19001 @section Score Decays
19002 @cindex score decays
19005 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
19006 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
19007 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
19008 use them in any sensible way.
19010 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
19011 @findex gnus-decay-score
19012 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
19013 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
19014 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
19015 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
19016 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
19017 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
19018 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
19019 definition of that function:
19022 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
19024 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
19025 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
19028 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
19030 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
19032 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
19035 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
19036 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
19037 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
19038 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
19042 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
19045 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
19048 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
19052 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
19053 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
19054 the new score, which should be an integer.
19056 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
19057 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
19062 @include message.texi
19063 @chapter Emacs MIME
19064 @include emacs-mime.texi
19066 @include sieve.texi
19076 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
19077 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
19078 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
19079 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
19080 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
19081 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
19082 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
19083 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
19084 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
19085 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
19086 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
19087 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
19088 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
19089 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
19090 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
19091 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
19092 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
19093 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
19094 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
19098 @node Process/Prefix
19099 @section Process/Prefix
19100 @cindex process/prefix convention
19102 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
19103 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
19105 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
19106 command to be performed on.
19110 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
19111 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
19112 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
19113 with the current one.
19115 @vindex transient-mark-mode
19116 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
19117 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
19119 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
19120 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
19123 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
19124 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
19126 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
19129 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
19130 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
19131 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
19132 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19134 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
19135 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
19136 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
19137 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
19138 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
19139 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
19140 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
19141 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
19143 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
19144 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
19145 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
19146 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
19147 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
19151 @section Interactive
19152 @cindex interaction
19156 @item gnus-novice-user
19157 @vindex gnus-novice-user
19158 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
19159 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
19160 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
19161 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
19164 @item gnus-expert-user
19165 @vindex gnus-expert-user
19166 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
19167 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
19168 matter how strange.
19170 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
19171 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
19172 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
19173 is @code{t} by default.
19175 @item gnus-interactive-exit
19176 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
19177 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
19182 @node Symbolic Prefixes
19183 @section Symbolic Prefixes
19184 @cindex symbolic prefixes
19186 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
19187 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
19188 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
19189 rule of 900 to the current article.
19191 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
19192 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
19193 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
19194 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
19195 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
19196 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
19197 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
19199 @kindex M-i (Summary)
19200 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
19201 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
19202 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
19203 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
19204 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
19205 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
19206 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
19207 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
19209 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
19210 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
19211 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
19213 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
19217 @node Formatting Variables
19218 @section Formatting Variables
19219 @cindex formatting variables
19221 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
19222 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
19223 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
19224 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
19225 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
19228 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
19229 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
19230 lots of percentages everywhere.
19233 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
19234 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
19235 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
19236 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
19237 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
19238 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
19239 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
19240 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
19243 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
19244 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
19245 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
19246 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
19247 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
19248 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
19249 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
19250 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
19252 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
19253 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
19255 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
19256 @findex gnus-update-format
19257 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
19258 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
19259 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
19260 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
19264 @node Formatting Basics
19265 @subsection Formatting Basics
19267 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
19268 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
19269 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
19271 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
19272 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
19273 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
19274 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
19275 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
19278 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
19279 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
19280 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
19281 less than 4 characters wide.
19283 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
19284 @samp{%&user-date;}.
19287 @node Mode Line Formatting
19288 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
19290 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
19291 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
19292 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
19293 with the following two differences:
19298 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
19301 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
19302 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
19303 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
19304 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
19305 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
19306 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
19307 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
19312 @node Advanced Formatting
19313 @subsection Advanced Formatting
19315 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
19316 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
19317 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
19318 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
19320 These are the valid modifiers:
19325 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
19329 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
19334 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
19337 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
19342 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
19345 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
19348 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
19351 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
19357 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
19362 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
19363 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
19364 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
19365 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
19366 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
19367 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
19368 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
19370 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
19371 last operation, padding.
19373 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
19374 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
19375 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
19376 @xref{Compilation}.
19379 @node User-Defined Specs
19380 @subsection User-Defined Specs
19382 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
19383 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
19384 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
19385 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
19386 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
19387 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
19388 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
19389 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
19390 should protect against that.
19392 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
19393 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
19395 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
19396 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
19397 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
19398 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
19402 @node Formatting Fonts
19403 @subsection Formatting Fonts
19405 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
19406 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
19407 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
19408 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
19411 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
19412 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
19413 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
19414 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
19415 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
19416 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
19418 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
19419 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
19420 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
19421 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
19422 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
19423 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
19424 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
19425 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
19427 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
19430 ;; Create three face types.
19431 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
19432 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
19434 ;; We want the article count to be in
19435 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
19436 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
19437 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
19439 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
19440 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
19442 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
19443 (setq gnus-group-line-format
19444 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
19447 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
19448 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
19450 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
19451 mode-line variables.
19453 @node Positioning Point
19454 @subsection Positioning Point
19456 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
19457 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
19458 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
19460 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
19462 @findex gnus-goto-colon
19463 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
19464 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
19466 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
19467 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%C} specifier. If you
19468 put a @samp{%C} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
19473 @subsection Tabulation
19475 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
19476 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
19477 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
19478 about lining up the following text afterwards.
19480 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs--@samp{%=}. There are two
19481 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
19483 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19484 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
19485 This is the soft tabulator.
19487 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
19488 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
19489 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
19492 @node Wide Characters
19493 @subsection Wide Characters
19495 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
19496 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
19497 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
19499 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
19500 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
19501 these coutries, that's not true.
19503 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
19504 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
19505 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
19506 prettieer. The default value is @code{t}.
19510 @node Window Layout
19511 @section Window Layout
19512 @cindex window layout
19514 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
19516 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
19517 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
19518 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
19519 @code{t} by default.
19521 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
19522 glitches. Use at your own peril.
19524 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
19525 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
19526 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
19529 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
19530 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
19531 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19535 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
19536 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
19537 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
19538 possible names is listed below.
19540 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
19541 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
19544 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
19548 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
19549 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
19550 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
19551 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
19552 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
19553 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
19554 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
19555 size spec per split.
19557 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
19558 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
19559 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
19560 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
19561 present) gets focus.
19563 Here's a more complicated example:
19566 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
19567 (summary 0.25 point)
19568 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
19572 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
19573 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
19574 occupy, not a percentage.
19576 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
19577 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
19578 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
19579 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
19580 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
19583 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
19586 (article (horizontal 1.0
19591 (summary 0.25 point)
19596 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
19597 @code{horizontal} thingie?
19599 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
19600 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
19601 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
19602 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
19603 the screen is to be given to this strip.
19605 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
19606 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
19607 lines from the splits.
19609 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
19613 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
19614 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
19615 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
19616 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
19617 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
19618 size = number | frame-params
19619 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
19622 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
19623 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
19624 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
19625 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
19627 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
19628 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
19629 @cindex window height
19630 @cindex window width
19631 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
19632 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
19633 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
19634 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
19635 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
19636 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
19638 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
19639 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
19640 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
19641 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
19643 @findex gnus-configure-frame
19644 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
19645 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
19646 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
19647 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
19648 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
19649 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
19650 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
19651 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
19652 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
19653 configuration list.
19656 (gnus-configure-frame
19660 (article 0.3 point))
19668 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
19669 @code{frame} split:
19672 (gnus-configure-frame
19675 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
19677 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
19678 (user-position . t)
19679 (left . -1) (top . 1))
19684 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
19685 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
19686 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
19687 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
19688 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
19689 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
19690 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
19691 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
19693 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
19694 be found in its default value.
19696 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
19697 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
19698 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
19702 (message (horizontal 1.0
19703 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
19705 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
19710 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
19711 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
19712 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
19717 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
19718 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
19719 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
19720 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
19721 (name . "Message"))
19722 (message 1.0 point))))
19725 @findex gnus-add-configuration
19726 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
19727 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
19728 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
19729 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
19732 (gnus-add-configuration
19733 '(article (vertical 1.0
19735 (summary .25 point)
19739 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
19740 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
19741 Gnus has been loaded.
19743 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
19744 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
19745 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
19746 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
19747 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
19749 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
19750 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
19751 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
19754 @subsection Example Window Configurations
19758 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
19759 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
19774 (gnus-add-configuration
19777 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19779 (summary 0.16 point)
19782 (gnus-add-configuration
19785 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
19786 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
19792 @node Faces and Fonts
19793 @section Faces and Fonts
19798 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
19799 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
19800 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
19805 @section Compilation
19806 @cindex compilation
19807 @cindex byte-compilation
19809 @findex gnus-compile
19811 Remember all those line format specification variables?
19812 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
19813 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
19814 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
19815 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
19816 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
19819 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
19820 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
19821 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
19822 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
19823 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
19824 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
19825 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
19829 @section Mode Lines
19832 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
19833 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
19834 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
19835 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
19836 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
19837 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
19838 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
19841 @cindex display-time
19843 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
19844 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
19845 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
19846 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
19847 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
19848 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
19849 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
19850 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
19853 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
19855 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
19856 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
19858 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
19859 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
19860 (length display-time-string)))))
19863 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
19864 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
19865 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
19866 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
19867 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
19870 @node Highlighting and Menus
19871 @section Highlighting and Menus
19873 @cindex highlighting
19876 @vindex gnus-visual
19877 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
19878 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
19879 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
19882 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
19883 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
19886 @item group-highlight
19887 Do highlights in the group buffer.
19888 @item summary-highlight
19889 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
19890 @item article-highlight
19891 Do highlights in the article buffer.
19893 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
19895 Create menus in the group buffer.
19897 Create menus in the summary buffers.
19899 Create menus in the article buffer.
19901 Create menus in the browse buffer.
19903 Create menus in the server buffer.
19905 Create menus in the score buffers.
19907 Create menus in all buffers.
19910 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
19911 buffers, you could say something like:
19914 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
19917 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
19920 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
19923 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
19924 in all Gnus buffers.
19926 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
19929 @item gnus-mouse-face
19930 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
19931 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
19932 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
19936 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
19940 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
19941 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
19942 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
19944 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
19945 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
19946 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
19948 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
19949 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
19950 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
19952 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
19953 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
19954 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
19956 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
19957 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
19958 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
19960 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
19961 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
19962 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
19973 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
19974 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
19975 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
19976 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
19977 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
19981 @vindex gnus-carpal
19982 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
19983 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
19984 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
19989 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19990 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
19991 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
19993 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
19994 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
19995 Face used on buttons.
19997 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
19998 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
19999 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
20001 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20002 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
20003 Buttons in the group buffer.
20005 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20006 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
20007 Buttons in the summary buffer.
20009 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20010 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
20011 Buttons in the server buffer.
20013 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20014 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
20015 Buttons in the browse buffer.
20018 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
20019 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
20020 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
20028 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
20029 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
20030 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
20031 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
20032 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
20034 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
20035 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
20036 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
20038 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
20039 been idle for thirty minutes:
20042 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
20045 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
20049 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
20052 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
20053 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
20054 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20056 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
20057 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
20058 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
20059 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
20061 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
20062 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
20063 @var{idle} minutes.
20065 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
20066 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
20069 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
20070 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
20071 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
20073 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
20074 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
20075 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
20076 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
20078 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
20079 your @file{.gnus} file:
20081 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
20083 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
20086 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
20087 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
20088 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
20089 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
20090 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
20091 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
20092 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
20093 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
20094 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
20095 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
20096 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
20098 @findex gnus-demon-init
20099 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
20100 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
20101 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
20102 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
20103 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
20105 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
20106 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
20107 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
20116 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
20117 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
20119 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
20120 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
20121 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
20122 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
20125 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
20126 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
20127 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
20128 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
20130 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
20131 this will make spam disappear.
20133 There are some variables to customize, of course:
20136 @item gnus-use-nocem
20137 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
20138 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
20141 @item gnus-nocem-groups
20142 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
20143 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
20144 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
20145 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
20147 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
20148 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
20149 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
20150 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
20151 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
20152 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
20154 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
20155 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
20157 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
20158 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
20159 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
20160 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
20161 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
20162 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
20163 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
20164 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
20165 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
20166 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
20168 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
20169 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
20172 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
20175 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
20176 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
20179 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
20182 The specs are applied left-to-right.
20185 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
20186 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
20188 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
20189 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
20190 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
20191 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
20193 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
20194 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
20197 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
20199 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
20207 This might be dangerous, though.
20209 @item gnus-nocem-directory
20210 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
20211 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
20212 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
20214 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20215 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
20216 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
20217 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
20218 might then see old spam.
20220 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
20221 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
20222 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
20223 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
20224 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
20227 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20228 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
20229 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
20230 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
20234 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
20235 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
20236 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
20237 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
20244 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
20245 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
20246 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
20248 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
20249 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
20250 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
20251 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
20252 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
20253 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
20254 @code{undo} function.
20256 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
20257 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
20258 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
20259 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
20260 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
20261 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
20262 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
20263 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
20264 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
20265 never be totally undoable.
20267 @findex gnus-undo-mode
20268 @vindex gnus-use-undo
20270 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
20271 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
20272 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
20273 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
20277 @node Predicate Specifiers
20278 @section Predicate Specifiers
20279 @cindex predicate specifiers
20281 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
20282 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
20283 to type all that much.
20285 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
20290 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
20291 gnus-article-unread-p)
20294 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
20295 functions all take one parameter.
20297 @findex gnus-make-predicate
20298 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
20299 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
20300 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
20305 @section Moderation
20308 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
20309 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
20310 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
20313 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
20317 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
20320 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
20322 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
20327 You split your incoming mail by matching on
20328 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
20329 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
20332 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
20333 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
20336 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
20337 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
20341 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
20344 (setq gnus-moderated-list
20345 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
20349 @node Image Enhancements
20350 @section Image Enhancements
20352 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21, is able to display pictures and stuff, so
20353 Gnus has taken advantage of that.
20356 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
20357 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
20358 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
20359 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
20360 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
20373 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
20374 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
20375 over your shoulder as you read news.
20378 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
20379 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
20380 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
20381 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
20382 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
20387 @subsubsection Picon Basics
20389 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
20398 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
20399 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
20400 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
20401 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
20402 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
20403 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
20404 @code{GIF} formats.
20407 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20408 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
20409 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
20410 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
20411 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
20413 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20414 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
20415 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
20416 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
20417 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
20418 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20420 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
20421 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
20424 @node Picon Requirements
20425 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
20427 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must have @code{x} support
20428 compiled into XEmacs. To display color picons which are much nicer
20429 than the black & white one, you also need one of @code{xpm} or
20430 @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
20432 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20433 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
20434 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
20435 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
20436 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
20437 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20440 @subsubsection Easy Picons
20442 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
20443 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
20446 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
20447 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
20450 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
20451 containing the Picons databases.
20453 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
20456 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20457 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
20462 @subsubsection Hard Picons
20470 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
20471 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
20472 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
20473 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
20474 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
20479 @item gnus-picons-database
20480 @vindex gnus-picons-database
20481 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
20482 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
20483 subdirectories. This is only useful if
20484 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
20485 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
20487 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20488 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
20489 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
20490 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
20491 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
20492 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
20493 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
20495 @item gnus-picons-display-where
20496 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20497 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
20498 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
20499 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
20500 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
20501 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
20502 routines---@pxref{Window Layout}.
20504 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20505 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
20506 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
20511 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
20512 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
20514 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
20515 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
20518 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
20520 @item gnus-article-display-picons
20521 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
20522 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
20523 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
20525 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20526 @findex gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
20527 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
20528 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the function name, not @code{xface})
20534 @node Picon Useless Configuration
20535 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
20543 The following variables offer further control over how things are
20544 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
20545 don't need to worry about.
20549 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
20550 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
20551 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20552 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
20554 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
20555 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
20556 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
20557 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
20559 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
20560 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
20561 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
20562 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
20563 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
20565 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20566 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
20567 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
20568 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
20569 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
20570 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
20571 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
20572 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20574 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20575 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
20576 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
20577 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
20578 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable name, not @code{xface})
20580 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20581 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
20582 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
20583 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
20584 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
20585 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
20586 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
20588 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20589 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
20590 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
20591 Defaults to @code{nil}.
20593 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
20594 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
20595 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
20596 Defaults to @code{t}.
20598 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20599 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
20600 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
20601 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
20603 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
20604 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
20605 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
20607 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20608 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
20609 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
20610 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
20612 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
20613 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
20615 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20616 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
20617 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
20618 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
20619 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
20620 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
20621 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
20622 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
20633 @subsection Smileys
20638 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
20643 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
20644 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
20646 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
20647 @file{.gnus.el} file:
20650 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
20653 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
20654 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
20655 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
20656 text and maps that to file names.
20658 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
20659 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
20660 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
20661 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
20662 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
20663 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
20665 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
20666 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
20668 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
20669 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
20670 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
20672 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
20673 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
20677 @item smiley-data-directory
20678 @vindex smiley-data-directory
20679 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
20681 @item smiley-flesh-color
20682 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
20683 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
20685 @item smiley-features-color
20686 @vindex smiley-features-color
20687 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20689 @item smiley-tongue-color
20690 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
20691 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
20693 @item smiley-circle-color
20694 @vindex smiley-circle-color
20695 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
20697 @item smiley-mouse-face
20698 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
20699 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
20708 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
20709 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
20710 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
20714 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
20715 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
20716 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
20717 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
20725 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
20726 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
20727 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
20728 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
20730 The variable that controls this is the
20731 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
20732 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
20733 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
20734 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
20735 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
20737 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
20738 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
20739 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
20740 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
20743 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
20744 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
20745 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
20746 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
20747 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
20748 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
20749 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
20750 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
20752 (NOTE: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
20755 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
20756 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
20758 @findex gnus-random-x-face
20759 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files
20760 in @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
20761 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
20762 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
20763 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big.
20765 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
20766 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
20767 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
20769 Here's how you would typically use the former function. Put something
20770 like the folllowing in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
20773 (setq message-required-news-headers
20774 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20775 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
20778 Using the latter function would be something like this:
20781 (setq message-required-news-headers
20782 (nconc message-required-news-headers
20783 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
20784 (gnus-x-face-from-file
20785 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
20790 @subsection Toolbar
20800 @item gnus-use-toolbar
20801 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
20802 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
20803 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
20804 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
20806 @item gnus-group-toolbar
20807 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
20808 The toolbar in the group buffer.
20810 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
20811 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
20812 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
20814 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20815 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
20816 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
20822 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
20825 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20826 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
20827 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
20828 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
20829 unusual directory structure.
20831 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20832 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
20833 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
20834 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
20836 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20837 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
20838 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
20839 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
20840 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
20841 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
20843 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20844 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
20845 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
20859 @node Fuzzy Matching
20860 @section Fuzzy Matching
20861 @cindex fuzzy matching
20863 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
20864 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
20866 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
20867 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
20868 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
20870 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
20871 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
20872 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
20873 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
20874 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
20877 @node Thwarting Email Spam
20878 @section Thwarting Email Spam
20882 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20884 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
20885 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
20886 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
20887 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
20888 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
20889 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
20890 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
20891 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
20894 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
20895 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
20896 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
20897 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
20898 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
20899 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
20904 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
20905 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
20906 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
20909 @node Anti-Spam Basics
20910 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
20914 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
20916 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
20917 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
20919 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
20920 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
20921 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
20922 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
20923 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
20924 part of the mail address.)
20927 (setq message-default-news-headers
20928 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
20931 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
20932 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
20937 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
20938 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
20939 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
20945 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
20946 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
20947 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
20948 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
20950 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @sc{smtp} server
20951 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
20952 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
20953 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
20954 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
20955 your fancy split rule in this way:
20960 (to "larsi" "misc")
20964 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
20965 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
20966 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
20967 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
20968 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
20970 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
20971 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
20972 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
20973 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
20974 cosmic balance somewhat.
20976 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
20977 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
20978 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
20979 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
20984 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
20985 @cindex SpamAssassin
20986 @cindex Vipul's Razor
20989 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
20990 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
20991 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
20992 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
20993 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
20994 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
20995 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
20997 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
20998 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
20999 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21000 Specifiers}) follows.
21004 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21007 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21010 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21011 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21012 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21015 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21019 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21022 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21023 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21027 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21028 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21029 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21030 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21033 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21035 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21037 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21038 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21040 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
21042 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
21043 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
21047 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
21048 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
21049 spam. And here is the nifty function:
21052 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
21053 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
21055 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
21056 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
21057 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
21061 @subsection Hashcash
21064 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
21065 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
21066 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
21067 since it is not part of the internet standards, but it may be useful
21068 in smaller communities.
21070 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
21071 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
21072 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
21073 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
21074 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
21075 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
21076 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
21077 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
21078 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
21079 one of them separately.
21082 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
21083 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
21084 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
21085 header. For more details, and for the external application
21086 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
21087 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
21088 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
21090 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
21094 (require 'hashcash)
21095 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
21098 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found at
21099 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}, or in the Gnus
21100 development contrib directory.
21102 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
21106 @item hashcash-default-payment
21107 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
21108 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
21109 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
21110 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
21112 @item hashcash-payment-alist
21113 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
21114 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
21115 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(ADDR AMOUNT)} cells,
21116 where ADDR is the receiver (email address or newsgroup) and AMOUNT is
21117 the number of bits in the collision that is needed. It can also
21118 contain @samp{(ADDR STRING AMOUNT)} cells, where the STRING is the
21119 string to use (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
21123 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
21127 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
21128 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
21129 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
21130 a useful contribution, however.
21132 @node Various Various
21133 @section Various Various
21139 @item gnus-home-directory
21140 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
21141 defaults to @file{~/}.
21143 @item gnus-directory
21144 @vindex gnus-directory
21145 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
21146 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
21147 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
21149 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
21150 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
21151 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
21152 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
21154 @item gnus-default-directory
21155 @vindex gnus-default-directory
21156 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
21157 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
21158 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
21159 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
21160 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
21161 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
21164 @vindex gnus-verbose
21165 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
21166 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
21167 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
21168 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
21169 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
21171 @item gnus-verbose-backends
21172 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
21173 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
21174 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
21176 @item nnheader-max-head-length
21177 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
21178 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
21179 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
21180 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
21181 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
21182 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
21183 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
21184 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
21185 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
21187 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
21188 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
21189 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
21190 read when doing the operation described above.
21192 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21193 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21195 @cindex invalid characters in file names
21196 @cindex characters in file names
21197 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
21198 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
21199 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
21202 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
21206 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
21207 Windows (phooey) systems.
21209 @item gnus-hidden-properties
21210 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
21211 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
21212 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
21213 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
21215 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
21216 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
21217 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
21218 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
21219 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
21221 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
21222 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
21223 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
21225 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21226 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
21228 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
21229 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
21230 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
21231 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
21234 @sc{imap} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
21242 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
21243 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
21245 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
21247 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
21253 Not because of victories @*
21256 but for the common sunshine,@*
21258 the largess of the spring.
21262 but for the day's work done@*
21263 as well as I was able;@*
21264 not for a seat upon the dais@*
21265 but at the common table.@*
21270 @chapter Appendices
21273 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
21274 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
21275 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
21276 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
21277 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
21278 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
21279 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
21280 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
21281 * Frequently Asked Questions::
21288 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
21290 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
21291 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
21292 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
21293 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
21294 @samp{xemacs-base}, and @samp{fsf-compat}.
21301 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
21302 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
21304 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
21305 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
21306 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
21307 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
21308 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
21310 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
21311 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
21312 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
21313 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
21314 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
21315 appropriate name, don't you think?)
21317 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
21318 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
21319 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
21320 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
21323 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
21324 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
21325 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
21326 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
21327 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
21328 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
21329 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
21330 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
21331 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
21335 @node Gnus Versions
21336 @subsection Gnus Versions
21338 @cindex September Gnus
21340 @cindex Quassia Gnus
21341 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
21345 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
21346 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
21347 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
21349 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
21350 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
21352 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
21353 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
21355 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
21356 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
21358 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
21359 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
21362 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
21364 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
21365 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
21366 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
21367 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
21368 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
21369 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
21372 @node Other Gnus Versions
21373 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
21376 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
21377 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
21378 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
21379 @sc{mime} capabilities.
21381 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
21382 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
21383 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
21384 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
21391 What's the point of Gnus?
21393 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
21394 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
21395 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
21396 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
21397 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
21398 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
21399 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
21400 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
21401 keep track of millions of people who post?
21403 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
21404 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
21405 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
21406 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
21407 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
21408 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
21409 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
21410 every one of you to explore and invent.
21412 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
21413 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
21416 @node Compatibility
21417 @subsection Compatibility
21419 @cindex compatibility
21420 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
21421 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
21422 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
21427 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
21431 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
21434 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
21437 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
21438 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
21439 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
21440 important variables have their values copied into their global
21441 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
21442 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
21444 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
21445 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
21446 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
21447 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
21448 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
21452 @cindex highlighting
21453 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
21454 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
21455 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
21456 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
21457 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
21458 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
21461 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
21462 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
21463 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
21464 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
21466 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
21467 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
21468 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
21469 to stop doing it the old way.
21471 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
21473 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21475 @cindex reporting bugs
21477 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
21478 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
21479 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
21481 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
21482 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
21483 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
21484 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
21489 @subsection Conformity
21491 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
21492 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
21500 There are no known breaches of this standard.
21504 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
21506 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
21507 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
21508 We do have some breaches to this one.
21514 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
21515 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
21516 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
21517 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
21518 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
21523 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
21524 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
21525 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
21526 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
21528 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
21530 All the various @sc{mime} RFCs are supported.
21532 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
21533 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
21535 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
21538 RFC 1991 is the original PGP message specification, published as a
21539 Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now called Open PGP, and
21540 put on the Standards Track. Both document a non-@sc{mime} aware PGP
21541 format. Gnus supports both encoding (signing and encryption) and
21542 decoding (verification and decryption).
21544 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
21545 RFC 2015 (superceded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
21546 1991) describes the @sc{mime}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
21547 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
21549 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
21550 RFC 2633 describes the @sc{s/mime} format.
21552 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
21553 RFC 1730 is @sc{imap} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060 (@sc{imap} 4
21554 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5 authentication for @sc{imap}. RFC
21555 2086 describes access control lists (ACLs) for @sc{imap}. RFC 2359
21556 describes a @sc{imap} protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper
21557 TLS integration (STARTTLS) with @sc{imap}. RFC 1731 describes the
21558 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @sc{imap}.
21562 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
21563 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
21568 @subsection Emacsen
21574 Gnus should work on :
21582 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
21586 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
21587 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
21590 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
21591 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
21592 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
21596 @node Gnus Development
21597 @subsection Gnus Development
21599 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
21600 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
21601 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
21602 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
21603 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
21604 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
21605 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
21606 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
21608 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
21609 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
21610 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
21611 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
21612 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
21615 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
21616 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
21617 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
21618 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
21619 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
21621 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
21622 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
21623 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
21624 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
21625 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
21626 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
21627 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
21628 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
21629 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
21630 can't be assumed to do so.
21635 @subsection Contributors
21636 @cindex contributors
21638 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
21639 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
21640 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
21641 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
21642 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
21643 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
21644 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
21645 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
21646 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
21647 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
21649 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
21655 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
21658 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
21659 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
21660 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
21661 functionality and stuff.
21664 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
21665 well as numerous other things).
21668 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
21671 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
21674 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
21677 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
21680 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
21681 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
21684 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
21687 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
21688 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
21691 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
21694 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
21697 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
21700 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
21703 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
21704 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
21707 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
21710 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
21713 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
21716 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
21720 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
21723 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
21726 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
21729 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
21730 well as autoconf support.
21734 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
21735 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
21737 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
21746 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
21750 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
21760 Alexei V. Barantsev,
21775 Massimo Campostrini,
21780 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
21781 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
21785 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
21788 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
21794 Michael Welsh Duggan,
21799 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
21803 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
21811 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
21813 Michelangelo Grigni,
21817 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
21819 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
21821 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
21828 François Felix Ingrand,
21829 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
21830 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
21832 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
21843 Peter Skov Knudsen,
21844 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
21846 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
21847 Thor Kristoffersen,
21850 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
21868 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
21869 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
21876 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
21881 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
21885 John McClary Prevost,
21891 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
21896 Christian von Roques,
21899 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
21906 Philippe Schnoebelen,
21908 Randal L. Schwartz,
21922 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
21927 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
21943 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
21948 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
21949 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
21950 (550kB and counting).
21952 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
21955 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
21956 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
21960 @subsection New Features
21961 @cindex new features
21964 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
21965 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
21966 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
21967 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
21968 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
21971 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
21972 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
21973 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
21976 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
21978 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
21983 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
21984 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
21987 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
21988 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
21991 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
21994 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
21995 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
21996 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
21999 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
22000 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
22001 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
22002 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22005 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
22006 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22009 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
22010 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
22011 (@pxref{The Active File}).
22014 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
22015 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
22018 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
22019 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
22020 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22023 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
22024 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
22025 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
22028 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
22029 the @file{.emacs} file.
22032 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
22033 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
22036 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
22037 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
22040 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
22041 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22044 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
22045 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
22048 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
22049 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22052 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
22055 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
22056 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
22059 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
22060 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
22063 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
22064 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
22067 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
22070 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
22071 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22074 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
22078 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
22082 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
22083 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
22086 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
22092 @node September Gnus
22093 @subsubsection September Gnus
22097 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
22101 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
22106 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
22107 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
22111 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
22112 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
22116 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
22120 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
22121 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
22124 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
22128 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
22131 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
22134 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
22137 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
22141 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
22142 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
22145 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
22149 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
22153 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
22157 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
22161 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
22164 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
22165 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
22168 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
22172 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
22173 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
22176 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
22179 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
22180 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
22181 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
22184 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
22188 The Gnus cache is much faster.
22191 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
22195 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
22196 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
22199 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
22200 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
22203 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
22204 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22207 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
22208 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
22209 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
22212 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
22213 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
22216 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
22219 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22222 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
22225 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
22228 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
22229 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
22232 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
22236 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
22239 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
22244 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
22247 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
22251 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
22254 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
22258 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
22261 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
22264 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
22265 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
22268 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
22269 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
22273 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
22274 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
22277 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
22281 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
22282 buffer to allow easier treatment.
22285 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
22288 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
22292 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
22296 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
22297 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
22300 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
22304 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
22305 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
22308 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
22309 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22312 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
22316 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
22319 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
22322 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
22328 @subsubsection Red Gnus
22330 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
22334 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
22341 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
22344 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
22345 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
22348 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
22349 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
22353 Article washing status can be displayed in the
22354 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
22357 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
22360 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
22361 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
22364 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
22368 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
22369 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
22373 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
22374 Server Internals}).
22377 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
22381 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
22384 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
22385 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
22388 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
22389 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
22390 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
22393 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
22394 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22397 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
22398 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
22401 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
22405 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
22406 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22409 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
22410 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
22413 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
22417 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
22420 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
22424 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
22425 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22428 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
22429 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
22432 A new command for reading collections of documents
22433 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
22434 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
22437 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
22441 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
22442 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
22445 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
22446 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
22447 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
22450 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
22451 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
22455 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
22459 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
22463 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
22468 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
22472 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
22476 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
22477 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
22480 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
22486 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
22488 New features in Gnus 5.6:
22493 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
22494 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
22495 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
22498 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
22499 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
22500 group, which is created automatically.
22503 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
22507 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
22510 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
22511 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
22514 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
22518 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
22521 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
22522 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
22525 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
22528 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
22529 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
22532 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
22533 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
22536 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
22537 control over simplification.
22540 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
22543 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
22547 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
22550 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
22553 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
22554 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
22555 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
22558 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
22559 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
22562 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
22566 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
22567 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
22570 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
22571 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
22574 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
22578 A history of where mails have been split is available.
22581 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
22584 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
22585 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
22588 A new function for citing in Message has been
22589 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
22592 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
22595 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
22599 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
22600 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
22603 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
22604 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
22607 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
22610 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
22614 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
22615 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
22617 New features in Gnus 5.8:
22622 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
22623 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
22625 If you used procmail like in
22628 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
22629 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
22630 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
22631 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
22634 this now has changed to
22638 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
22642 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
22643 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
22646 Gnus is now a @sc{mime}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
22647 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
22650 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
22651 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
22654 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
22655 called to position point.
22658 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
22659 summary buffers and @sc{nov} files.
22662 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
22663 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
22666 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
22667 subtly different manner.
22670 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
22671 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
22672 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
22675 Gnus can now read @sc{imap} mail via @code{nnimap}.
22683 @section The Manual
22687 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
22688 either @code{texi2dvi}
22690 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
22691 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
22693 to get what you hold in your hands now.
22695 The following conventions have been used:
22700 This is a @samp{string}
22703 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
22706 This is a @file{file}
22709 This is a @code{symbol}
22713 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
22717 (setq flargnoze "yes")
22720 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
22723 (setq flumphel 'yes)
22726 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
22727 ever get them confused.
22731 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
22732 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
22733 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
22734 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
22735 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
22736 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
22737 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
22743 @node On Writing Manuals
22744 @section On Writing Manuals
22746 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
22747 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
22748 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
22749 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
22750 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
22751 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
22754 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
22755 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
22756 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
22759 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
22760 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
22765 @section Terminology
22767 @cindex terminology
22772 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
22773 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
22774 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
22775 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
22776 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
22780 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
22781 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
22782 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
22783 not posting, and replying is not following up.
22787 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
22791 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
22796 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
22797 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
22798 commonly fetched via the protocol NNTP, whereas mail messages could be
22799 read from a file on the local disk. The internal architecture of Gnus
22800 thus comprises a `front end' and a number of `back ends'. Internally,
22801 when you enter a group (by hitting @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke
22802 a function in the front end in Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a
22803 back end and says things like ``Give me the list of articles in the foo
22804 group'' or ``Show me article number 4711''.
22806 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back end
22807 accesses news via NNTP, the @code{nnimap} back end accesses mail via
22808 IMAP) or a file format and directory layout (the @code{nnspool} back end
22809 accesses news via the common `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml}
22810 back end access mail via a file format and directory layout that's
22813 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
22814 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
22815 access the articles.
22817 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
22818 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
22819 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
22824 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
22825 default, way of getting news.
22829 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
22830 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
22835 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
22836 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
22840 A message that has been posted as news.
22843 @cindex mail message
22844 A message that has been mailed.
22848 A mail message or news article
22852 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
22857 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
22862 A line from the head of an article.
22866 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
22867 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
22871 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
22872 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
22873 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
22874 normal @sc{head} format.
22878 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
22879 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
22880 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
22881 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
22882 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
22883 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
22885 @item killed groups
22886 @cindex killed groups
22887 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
22888 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
22890 @item zombie groups
22891 @cindex zombie groups
22892 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
22895 @cindex active file
22896 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
22897 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
22898 is rather large, as you might surmise.
22901 @cindex bogus groups
22902 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
22903 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
22904 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
22907 @cindex activating groups
22908 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
22909 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
22910 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
22914 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
22916 @item select method
22917 @cindex select method
22918 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
22921 @item virtual server
22922 @cindex virtual server
22923 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
22924 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
22925 whole is a virtual server.
22929 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
22930 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
22933 @item ephemeral groups
22934 @cindex ephemeral groups
22935 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
22936 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
22937 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
22940 @cindex solid groups
22941 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
22942 group buffer are solid groups.
22944 @item sparse articles
22945 @cindex sparse articles
22946 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
22947 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
22951 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
22952 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
22956 @cindex thread root
22957 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
22958 articles in the thread.
22962 An article that has responses.
22966 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
22970 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
22971 specified by RFC 1153.
22977 @node Customization
22978 @section Customization
22979 @cindex general customization
22981 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
22982 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
22983 for some quite common situations.
22986 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
22987 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
22988 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
22989 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
22993 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
22994 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
22996 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
22997 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
22998 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
23002 @item gnus-read-active-file
23003 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
23004 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
23005 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23006 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
23007 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
23009 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
23010 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
23011 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
23012 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
23016 @node Slow Terminal Connection
23017 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
23019 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
23020 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
23021 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
23025 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
23026 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
23027 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
23028 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
23029 horizontal and vertical recentering.
23031 @item gnus-visible-headers
23032 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
23033 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
23034 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
23035 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
23037 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
23039 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
23040 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
23041 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
23044 @item gnus-use-full-window
23045 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
23046 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
23047 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
23048 want to read them anyway.
23050 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
23051 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
23055 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
23056 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
23057 lines, which might save some time.
23061 @node Little Disk Space
23062 @subsection Little Disk Space
23065 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
23066 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
23070 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
23071 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
23072 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23073 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23076 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
23077 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
23078 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
23079 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
23082 @item gnus-save-killed-list
23083 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
23084 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
23085 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
23086 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
23092 @subsection Slow Machine
23093 @cindex slow machine
23095 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
23096 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
23098 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
23099 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
23101 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
23102 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
23103 summary buffer faster.
23107 @node Troubleshooting
23108 @section Troubleshooting
23109 @cindex troubleshooting
23111 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
23119 Make sure your computer is switched on.
23122 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
23123 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
23127 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
23128 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
23129 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
23130 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
23133 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
23137 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
23138 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
23139 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
23140 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
23141 something like that.
23144 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
23147 @cindex reporting bugs
23149 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23151 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
23152 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
23153 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
23154 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
23156 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
23157 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
23158 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
23159 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
23162 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
23163 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
23164 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
23165 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
23166 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
23167 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
23169 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
23170 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
23171 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
23175 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
23176 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
23179 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
23180 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
23181 edebug. Debugging lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
23182 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
23183 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
23184 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
23185 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
23186 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
23187 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
23188 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
23189 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
23190 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
23191 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
23192 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
23194 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
23195 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
23197 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
23198 @cindex ding mailing list
23199 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
23200 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
23204 @node Gnus Reference Guide
23205 @section Gnus Reference Guide
23207 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
23208 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
23209 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
23210 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
23213 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
23214 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
23215 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
23216 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
23217 and general methods of operation.
23220 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
23221 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
23222 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
23223 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
23224 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
23225 * Group Info:: The group info format.
23226 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
23227 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
23228 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
23232 @node Gnus Utility Functions
23233 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
23234 @cindex Gnus utility functions
23235 @cindex utility functions
23237 @cindex internal variables
23239 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
23240 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
23241 Below is a list of the most common ones.
23245 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
23246 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
23247 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
23249 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
23250 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
23251 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
23253 @item gnus-group-real-name
23254 @findex gnus-group-real-name
23255 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
23258 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
23259 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
23260 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
23261 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
23263 @item gnus-get-info
23264 @findex gnus-get-info
23265 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
23267 @item gnus-group-unread
23268 @findex gnus-group-unread
23269 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
23273 @findex gnus-active
23274 The active entry for @var{group}.
23276 @item gnus-set-active
23277 @findex gnus-set-active
23278 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
23280 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23281 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
23282 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
23285 @item gnus-continuum-version
23286 @findex gnus-continuum-version
23287 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
23288 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
23291 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
23292 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
23293 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
23295 @item gnus-news-group-p
23296 @findex gnus-news-group-p
23297 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
23299 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23300 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
23301 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
23303 @item gnus-server-to-method
23304 @findex gnus-server-to-method
23305 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
23307 @item gnus-server-equal
23308 @findex gnus-server-equal
23309 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
23311 @item gnus-group-native-p
23312 @findex gnus-group-native-p
23313 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
23315 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
23316 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
23317 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
23319 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
23320 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
23321 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
23323 @item group-group-find-parameter
23324 @findex group-group-find-parameter
23325 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
23326 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
23328 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
23329 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
23330 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
23332 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
23333 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
23334 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
23336 @item gnus-check-backend-function
23337 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
23338 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
23339 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
23342 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
23346 @item gnus-read-method
23347 @findex gnus-read-method
23348 Prompts the user for a select method.
23353 @node Back End Interface
23354 @subsection Back End Interface
23356 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
23357 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
23358 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
23359 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
23360 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
23361 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
23363 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
23364 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
23365 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
23366 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
23367 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
23368 been opened, the function should fail.
23370 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
23371 name. Take this example:
23375 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
23376 (nntp-port-number 4324))
23379 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
23380 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
23382 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
23383 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
23384 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
23386 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
23387 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
23388 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
23390 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
23391 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
23392 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
23393 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
23394 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
23395 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
23398 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
23399 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
23400 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
23401 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
23404 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
23405 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
23406 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
23407 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
23408 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
23409 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
23410 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
23411 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
23412 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
23413 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
23415 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
23416 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
23417 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
23418 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
23419 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
23420 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
23421 of numbers as long as possible.
23423 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
23426 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
23429 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
23430 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
23431 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
23432 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
23433 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
23434 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
23438 @node Required Back End Functions
23439 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
23443 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
23445 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
23446 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
23447 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
23448 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
23450 The result data should either be HEADs or @sc{nov} lines, and the result
23451 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
23452 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
23453 of HEADs and @sc{nov} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
23455 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
23456 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
23457 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
23458 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
23459 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
23460 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
23461 number, do maximum fetches.
23463 Here's an example HEAD:
23466 221 1056 Article retrieved.
23467 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
23468 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
23469 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
23470 Subject: Re: Something very droll
23471 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
23472 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
23474 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
23475 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
23476 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
23480 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
23481 these in the data buffer.
23483 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
23487 head = error / valid-head
23488 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
23489 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
23490 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
23491 header = <text> eol
23494 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
23495 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
23499 nov-buffer = *nov-line
23500 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
23501 field = <text except TAB>
23504 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
23508 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
23510 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
23511 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
23513 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
23514 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
23515 server. In fact, it should do so.
23517 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
23518 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
23521 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
23523 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
23524 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
23527 There should be no data returned.
23530 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
23532 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
23533 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
23534 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
23535 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
23537 There should be no data returned.
23540 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
23542 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
23543 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
23544 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
23545 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
23547 There should be no data returned.
23550 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
23552 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
23554 There should be no data returned.
23557 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
23559 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
23560 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
23561 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
23562 it would be nice if that were possible.
23564 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
23565 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
23566 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
23567 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
23568 into its article buffer.
23570 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
23571 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
23572 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
23573 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
23574 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
23575 on successful article retrieval.
23578 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
23580 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
23581 making @var{group} the current group.
23583 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
23586 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
23589 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
23592 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
23593 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
23594 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
23595 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
23596 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
23597 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
23598 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
23599 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
23600 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
23604 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
23605 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
23606 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
23610 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23612 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
23613 a no-op on most back ends.
23615 There should be no data returned.
23618 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
23620 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
23623 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
23626 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
23627 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
23630 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
23631 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
23632 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
23633 and the highest as 0.
23636 active-file = *active-line
23637 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
23639 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
23642 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
23643 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
23644 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
23647 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
23649 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
23650 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
23651 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
23652 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
23653 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
23654 clear if the posting could not be completed.
23656 There should be no result data from this function.
23661 @node Optional Back End Functions
23662 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
23666 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
23668 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
23669 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
23670 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
23672 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
23673 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
23674 former is in the same format as the data from
23675 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
23676 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
23679 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
23683 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
23685 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
23686 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all the
23687 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
23688 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
23689 should return the (altered) group info.
23691 There should be no result data from this function.
23694 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
23696 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
23697 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
23698 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
23699 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
23700 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
23701 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
23702 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
23703 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
23705 There should be no result data from this function.
23708 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
23710 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
23711 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
23712 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
23713 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
23714 propagate the mark information to the server.
23716 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
23719 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
23722 RANGE is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. ACTION is
23723 @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove marks
23724 (preserving all marks not mentioned). MARK is a list of marks; where
23725 each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read},
23726 @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
23727 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
23728 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
23729 possible, not limit itself to these.
23731 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
23732 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
23733 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
23734 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
23736 An example action list:
23739 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
23740 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
23741 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
23744 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
23745 mark on (currently not used for anything).
23747 There should be no result data from this function.
23749 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
23751 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
23752 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
23753 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
23754 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
23755 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
23757 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
23758 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
23759 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
23762 There should be no result data from this function.
23765 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
23767 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
23768 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
23769 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query the
23770 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
23771 to be heeded---if the back end decides that it is too much work just
23772 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
23773 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
23775 There should be no result data from this function.
23778 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
23780 The result data from this function should be a description of
23784 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
23786 description = <text>
23789 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
23791 The result data from this function should be the description of all
23792 groups available on the server.
23795 description-buffer = *description-line
23799 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
23801 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
23802 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
23803 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
23804 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
23805 in the active buffer format.
23807 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
23808 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
23809 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
23810 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
23811 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
23812 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
23813 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
23816 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
23818 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
23820 There should be no return data.
23823 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
23825 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
23826 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
23827 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
23828 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
23829 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
23832 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
23835 There should be no result data returned.
23838 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
23841 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
23842 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
23844 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
23845 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
23846 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
23847 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
23848 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
23849 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
23851 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
23852 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
23855 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23856 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23858 There should be no data returned.
23861 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
23863 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
23864 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
23865 this function in short order.
23867 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
23868 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
23870 There should be no data returned.
23873 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
23875 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
23876 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
23878 There should be no data returned.
23881 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
23883 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
23884 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
23885 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
23887 There should be no data returned.
23890 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
23892 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
23893 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
23895 There should be no data returned.
23900 @node Error Messaging
23901 @subsubsection Error Messaging
23903 @findex nnheader-report
23904 @findex nnheader-get-report
23905 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
23906 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
23907 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
23908 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
23909 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
23910 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
23913 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
23915 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
23918 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
23919 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
23920 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
23921 takes one argument---the server symbol.
23923 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
23924 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
23925 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
23928 @node Writing New Back Ends
23929 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
23931 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
23932 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
23933 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
23934 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
23935 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
23938 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
23939 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
23940 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
23942 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
23943 package called @code{nnoo}.
23945 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
23946 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
23952 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
23953 parameters. For instance:
23956 (nnoo-declare nndir
23960 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
23961 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
23964 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
23965 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
23966 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
23968 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
23969 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
23970 a function in those back ends.
23973 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
23974 "Where nndir will look for groups."
23975 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
23978 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
23979 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
23980 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
23982 @item nnoo-define-basics
23983 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
23987 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
23991 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
23992 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
23993 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
23995 @item nnoo-map-functions
23996 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
23997 functions from the parent back ends.
24000 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24001 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24002 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
24005 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
24006 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
24007 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
24008 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
24011 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
24012 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
24013 haven't already been defined.
24019 nnmh-request-newgroups)
24023 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
24024 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
24025 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
24030 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
24033 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
24034 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
24038 (require 'nnheader)
24042 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
24044 (nnoo-declare nndir
24047 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
24048 "Where nndir will look for groups."
24049 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
24051 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
24052 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
24055 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
24057 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
24058 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
24059 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
24061 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
24062 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
24064 ;;; Interface functions.
24066 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
24068 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
24069 (setq nndir-directory
24070 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
24072 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
24073 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
24074 (push `(nndir-current-group
24075 ,(file-name-nondirectory
24076 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24078 (push `(nndir-top-directory
24079 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
24081 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
24083 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
24084 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24085 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
24086 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
24087 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
24091 nnmh-status-message
24093 nnmh-request-newgroups))
24099 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24100 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
24102 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
24103 @findex gnus-declare-backend
24104 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
24105 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
24106 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
24108 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
24109 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
24114 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
24117 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
24119 The abilities can be:
24123 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
24125 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
24127 This back end supports both mail and news.
24129 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
24132 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
24133 articles and groups.
24135 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
24136 true for almost all back ends.
24137 @item prompt-address
24138 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
24139 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
24140 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
24144 @node Mail-like Back Ends
24145 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
24147 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
24148 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
24149 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
24150 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
24153 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
24154 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
24155 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
24158 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
24159 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
24162 This function takes four parameters.
24166 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
24169 @item exit-function
24170 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
24172 @item temp-directory
24173 Where the temporary files should be stored.
24176 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
24177 performed for one group only.
24180 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
24181 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
24182 find the article number assigned to this article.
24184 The function also uses the following variables:
24185 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
24186 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
24187 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
24188 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
24192 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
24193 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
24197 @node Score File Syntax
24198 @subsection Score File Syntax
24200 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
24201 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
24202 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
24204 Here's a typical score file:
24208 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
24215 BNF definition of a score file:
24218 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
24219 element = rule / atom
24220 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
24221 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
24222 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
24223 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
24225 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
24226 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
24227 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
24228 date-header = "date"
24229 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24230 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24231 score = "nil" / <integer>
24232 date = "nil" / <natural number>
24233 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
24234 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
24235 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
24236 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
24237 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24238 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24239 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
24240 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
24241 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
24242 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
24243 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
24244 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
24245 exclude-files / read-only / touched
24246 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
24247 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
24248 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
24249 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
24250 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
24251 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
24252 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
24253 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
24254 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
24255 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
24256 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
24257 eval = "eval" space <form>
24258 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
24261 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
24264 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
24265 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
24266 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
24267 one looong line, then that's ok.
24269 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
24270 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24274 @subsection Headers
24276 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
24277 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
24278 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
24279 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
24281 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
24282 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
24283 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
24284 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
24285 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
24286 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
24287 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
24289 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
24290 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
24291 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
24292 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
24293 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
24295 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
24296 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
24302 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
24303 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
24305 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
24306 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
24307 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
24308 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
24310 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
24314 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
24317 is transformed into
24320 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
24323 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
24324 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
24327 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
24330 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
24331 is slightly tricky:
24334 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
24340 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
24343 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
24349 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
24356 and is equal to the previous range.
24358 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
24359 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
24360 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
24364 range = simple-range / normal-range
24365 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
24366 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
24367 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
24368 number *[ " " contents ]
24371 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
24372 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
24373 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
24374 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
24375 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
24380 @subsection Group Info
24382 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
24383 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
24384 describes the group.
24386 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
24387 second is a more complex one:
24390 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
24392 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
24393 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
24395 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
24398 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
24399 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
24400 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
24401 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
24402 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
24403 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
24404 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
24405 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
24406 this section is about.
24408 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
24409 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
24410 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
24412 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
24415 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
24416 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
24417 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
24418 group = quote <string> quote
24419 ralevel = rank / level
24420 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24421 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
24422 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
24424 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
24425 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
24426 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
24427 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
24430 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
24431 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
24434 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
24435 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
24438 @item gnus-info-group
24439 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
24440 @findex gnus-info-group
24441 @findex gnus-info-set-group
24442 Get/set the group name.
24444 @item gnus-info-rank
24445 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
24446 @findex gnus-info-rank
24447 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
24448 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
24450 @item gnus-info-level
24451 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
24452 @findex gnus-info-level
24453 @findex gnus-info-set-level
24454 Get/set the group level.
24456 @item gnus-info-score
24457 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
24458 @findex gnus-info-score
24459 @findex gnus-info-set-score
24460 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
24462 @item gnus-info-read
24463 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
24464 @findex gnus-info-read
24465 @findex gnus-info-set-read
24466 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
24468 @item gnus-info-marks
24469 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
24470 @findex gnus-info-marks
24471 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
24472 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
24474 @item gnus-info-method
24475 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
24476 @findex gnus-info-method
24477 @findex gnus-info-set-method
24478 Get/set the group select method.
24480 @item gnus-info-params
24481 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
24482 @findex gnus-info-params
24483 @findex gnus-info-set-params
24484 Get/set the group parameters.
24487 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
24488 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
24490 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
24491 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
24492 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
24493 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
24496 @node Extended Interactive
24497 @subsection Extended Interactive
24498 @cindex interactive
24499 @findex gnus-interactive
24501 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
24502 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
24503 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
24506 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
24507 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
24512 The best thing to do would have been to implement
24513 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
24514 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
24515 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
24516 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
24517 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
24518 @code{interactive}.
24520 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
24525 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
24526 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
24530 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
24531 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
24532 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
24535 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
24539 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
24543 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
24549 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
24550 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
24554 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
24555 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
24556 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
24558 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
24559 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
24560 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
24561 Gnus, that's very useful.
24563 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
24564 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
24565 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
24566 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
24567 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
24568 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
24569 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
24570 following function:
24573 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
24577 (,function ,@@args))
24581 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
24582 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
24583 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
24586 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
24587 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
24588 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
24590 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
24591 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
24592 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
24595 @node Various File Formats
24596 @subsection Various File Formats
24599 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
24600 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
24604 @node Active File Format
24605 @subsubsection Active File Format
24607 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
24608 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
24611 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
24614 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
24615 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
24616 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
24617 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
24618 no.general 1000 900 y
24621 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
24624 active = *group-line
24625 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
24626 group = <non-white-space string>
24628 high-number = <non-negative integer>
24629 low-number = <positive integer>
24630 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
24633 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
24634 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
24637 @node Newsgroups File Format
24638 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
24640 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
24641 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
24642 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
24645 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
24646 Here's the definition:
24650 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
24651 group = <non-white-space string>
24653 description = <string>
24658 @node Emacs for Heathens
24659 @section Emacs for Heathens
24661 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
24662 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
24663 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
24664 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
24665 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
24666 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
24667 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
24671 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
24672 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
24677 @subsection Keystrokes
24681 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
24684 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
24687 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
24688 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
24689 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
24690 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
24691 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
24692 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
24694 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
24695 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
24696 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
24697 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
24698 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
24699 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
24700 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
24702 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
24703 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
24704 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
24705 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
24706 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
24707 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
24708 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
24710 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
24711 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
24712 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
24713 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
24714 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
24720 @subsection Emacs Lisp
24722 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
24723 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
24724 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
24725 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
24727 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
24728 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
24729 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
24730 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
24731 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
24732 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
24733 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
24736 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
24737 write the following:
24740 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
24743 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
24744 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
24745 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
24748 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
24749 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
24750 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
24751 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
24752 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
24754 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
24755 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
24756 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
24760 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
24764 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
24767 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
24768 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
24771 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
24774 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
24775 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
24778 @include gnus-faq.texi
24798 @c Local Variables:
24800 @c coding: iso-8859-1
24802 % LocalWords: BNF mucho detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
24803 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
24804 % LocalWords: nnmbox newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
24805 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
24806 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref