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335 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
340 @setchapternewpage odd
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 @top The Gnus Newsreader
359 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
360 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
361 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
364 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
365 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
394 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
395 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
397 @heading Other related manuals
399 @item Message manual: Composing messages
400 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
401 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
402 @item PGG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
403 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
409 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
410 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
411 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
412 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
413 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
414 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
415 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
416 * Various:: General purpose settings.
417 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
418 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
419 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
420 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
421 * Key Index:: Key Index.
423 Other related manuals
425 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
426 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
427 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
428 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
429 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
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 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
473 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
477 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
478 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
479 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
483 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
484 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
485 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
486 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
487 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
491 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
492 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
493 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
494 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
495 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
499 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
500 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
501 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
502 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
503 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
504 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
505 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
506 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
507 * Threading:: How threads are made.
508 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
509 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
510 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
511 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
512 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
513 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
514 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
515 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
516 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
517 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
518 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
519 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
520 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
521 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
522 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
523 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
524 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
525 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
526 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
527 or reselecting the current group.
528 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
529 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
530 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
531 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
533 Summary Buffer Format
535 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
536 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
537 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
538 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
542 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
543 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
545 Reply, Followup and Post
547 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
548 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
549 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
550 * Canceling and Superseding::
554 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
555 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
556 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
557 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
558 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
559 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
563 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
564 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
566 Customizing Threading
568 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
569 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
570 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
571 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
575 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
576 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
577 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
578 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
579 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
580 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
584 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
585 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
586 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
590 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
591 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
592 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
593 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
594 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
595 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
596 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
599 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
600 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
602 Alternative Approaches
604 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
605 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
607 Various Summary Stuff
609 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
610 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
611 * Summary Generation Commands::
612 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
616 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
617 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
618 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
619 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
620 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
624 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
625 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
626 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
627 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
628 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
629 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
630 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
631 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
632 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
636 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
637 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
638 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
639 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
640 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
641 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
642 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
643 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
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 cruft 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 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
697 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
698 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
703 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
704 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
705 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
706 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
707 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
708 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
712 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
713 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
714 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
715 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
716 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
717 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
721 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
722 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
723 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
724 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
725 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
729 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
733 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
734 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
735 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
739 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
740 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
744 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
745 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
746 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
750 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
751 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
752 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
754 The Gnus Diary Library
756 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
757 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
758 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
759 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
763 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
764 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
765 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
766 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
767 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
768 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
769 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
770 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
771 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
772 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
773 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
774 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
775 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
776 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
780 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
781 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
782 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
786 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
787 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
788 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
792 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
793 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
794 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
795 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
796 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
797 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
798 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
799 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
800 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
801 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
802 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
803 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
804 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
805 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
806 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
807 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
811 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
812 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
813 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
817 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
818 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
819 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
820 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
821 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
822 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
823 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
824 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
825 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
826 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
827 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
828 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
829 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
830 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
831 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
832 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
833 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
834 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
835 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
836 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
837 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
841 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
842 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
843 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
844 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
845 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
846 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
847 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
848 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
852 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
853 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
854 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
856 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
857 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
861 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
862 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
863 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
864 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
868 * Spam Package Introduction::
869 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
870 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
871 * Spam and Ham Processors::
872 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
874 * Extending the Spam package::
875 * Spam Statistics Package::
877 Spam Statistics Package
879 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
880 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
881 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
885 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
886 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
887 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
888 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
889 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
890 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
891 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
892 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
893 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
897 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
898 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
899 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
900 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
901 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
902 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
903 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
904 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
905 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
909 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
910 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
911 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
912 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
913 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
914 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
915 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
919 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
920 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
921 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
922 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
926 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
927 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
928 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
929 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
930 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
931 * Group Info:: The group info format.
932 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
933 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
934 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
938 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
939 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
940 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
941 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
942 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
943 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
947 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
948 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
952 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
953 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
959 @chapter Starting Gnus
962 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
967 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
968 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
969 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
970 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
971 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
972 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
974 @findex gnus-other-frame
975 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
976 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
977 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
979 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
980 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
981 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
983 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
984 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
987 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
988 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
989 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
990 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
991 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
992 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
993 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
994 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
995 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
996 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1000 @node Finding the News
1001 @section Finding the News
1002 @cindex finding news
1004 @vindex gnus-select-method
1006 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1007 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1008 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1009 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1012 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1013 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1016 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1019 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1022 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1025 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1026 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1027 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1028 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1030 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1032 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1033 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1034 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1035 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1036 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1037 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1038 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1040 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1041 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1042 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1043 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1045 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1046 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1047 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1048 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1049 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1050 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1051 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1052 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1053 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1056 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1058 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1059 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1060 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1061 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1062 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1063 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1065 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1067 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1068 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1069 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1070 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1071 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1072 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1075 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1076 you would typically set this variable to
1079 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1082 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1083 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1084 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1085 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1088 @node The First Time
1089 @section The First Time
1090 @cindex first time usage
1092 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to